The Velour Battle of the Bands is one of the most prestigious Utah music competitions, with previous winners including Imagine Dragons, Neon Trees, The Aces and The Backseat Lovers.
“I love Velour," said event attendee Ell Mortensen. "It’s just such a fun atmosphere.”
This year's five finalists were The Bombshell Flowers, Aurhe, Saemore, The Penny Candies and the summer 2025 winner, The Last Wild Buffalo.
The Last Wild Buffalo is a folk band from Eagle Mountain that has been together for 2 years.
They released their first album in 2024 and said they are all in it for the long ride.
"(I'm) just grateful overall and humbled," Jonny Celaya, The Last Wild Buffalo band member, said.
The five finalists were judged based on musicianship, songwriting, stage presence, vocal performance and crowd participation.
All five bands had at least a few audience members singing along to the chorus of their songs.
The Bombshell Flowers is a rock band made up of three goofy life-long best friends who dedicated their final song to the one and only Garfield.
Aurhe had a party rocking and hair-flipping performance with rock music at full volume and black facepaint to complete their aesthetic. Their lead guitarist even crowd surfed before the end of their set.
Saemore is a newer folk pop band in Provo with a country vibe. They are working on a new album.
After The Last Wild Buffalo, The Penny Candies finished off the night with their unique indie folk performance made complete with a bubble machine.
Though all five bands did a phenomenal job, only one walked away with the prize.
The Wild Buffalo won a cooler full of cash, a feature story in Provo Music Magazine, Rugs Unplugged live recording session, a band photo shoot by Blake Clifford photo, four one-hour sessions with Greenroom Strategy and more, all coming out to be worth about $5,000.
The other finalists also received some prizes, worth about 800 dollars.
The Last Wild Buffalo and the other finalists are available to listen to on all streaming platforms.