Everything to know about BYU Battle of the Bands

Next week is Brigham Young University's Battle of the Bands. Heres everything to know about this years event.

Battle of the Bands will be held at the Marriott Center from 710 p.m., with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here, with options for general admission or floor seating.

12 bands will perform back-to-back, and judges will announce the winner at the end of the night.

This years six judges include a mix of faculty and students from BYU. Among them are Sam and Ruben Paris, student influencers from France, and student body executive vice president Jayne Jonas.

The judges were selected to create a balance of community members with a range of musical abilities.

Bands are evaluated on several categories, including musicianship, stage presence, creativity and impact. The audience can also vote for their favorite band throughout the night.

There were 60 bands that auditioned, and 12 were selected by a committee from BYUSA to perform.

The night will open with a special performance from Just Khakis, the winner of last years Battle of the Bands.

Some of the bands have been together for only a few months, including Some Situation, The Nooks, The Smores and Break Room. One band, Moon Bootz, has only been together for a couple of weeks.

Others, like Dear Catherine, Corduroy and Anomalous Draft, have been playing together for more than a year.

Even so, Battle of the Bands provides great exposure for all the bands performing.

The Filibusters have been together for 18 months with their current lineup, and lead singer Hanna Eyre said she is looking forward to seeing how their original music translates to a large arena.

It is such a cool opportunity. It means that we get to share our music with a ton of new people, Eyre said.

Some bands may be familiar faces as they return for their second year in Battle of the Bands. Moving Company and Love, Kenna are both back for more this year.

Walter Fowler, a member of Moving Company, noted how special it feels to return.

Its really amazing to come back for year two and be able to show what new things weve done, Fowler said. How weve grown as artists, as a band, as a group, and be able to look back and have a benchmark to look back on.

When asked about what the band was doing differently this time around, Fowler said that theyve been prioritizing building trust within the group.

Weve been focusing on how tight we are as a band, how cohesive we are, and playing to each other and with each other rather than to an audience, Fowler said.

T Street, another band performing this weekend, spoke about how much music means to them. Jacob Schooley, who plays the keys, explained why the band is special to him.

Its a great way to make people happy. Playing music produces a lot of smiles, Schooley said.

Battle of the Bands has music to offer everyone, with genres ranging from country to punk rock and pop.

To get Battle of the Bands tickets to see these bands perform in person, click the link here.