On March 28, 12 bands took to the Marriott Center stage to compete in Brigham Young University's Battle of the Bands.

Bands old and new played a variety of genres from country to rock, but only one emerged victorious. The Filibusters took first place from the judges, and T-Street won the audience favorite vote.

Hanna Eyre is the lead vocalist for the Filibusters and was overjoyed running up on stage to accept their award.

It feels incredible. We were just saying its surreal, Eyre said.

The Filibusters were originally started for BYUs Battle of the Bands in 2019, which unfortunately got cut due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since then, the group has performed in numerous other Battle of the Bands, so this win has been a long time coming.

This years Battle of the Bands had a huge turnout, with more than 1,000 tickets sold and students filling up sections of the Marriott Center to support their fellow students.

Lilli Criser is the activities director for BYUSA, and said this has been her passion project for months.

There was literally a moment where I looked up at the crowd, and they all had their flashlights on, and they were waving them side-to-side, Criser said. And my eyes welled up with tears it just made it all worth it.

Criser credited her team at BYUSA for the love that they all contributed to pull off such an incredible event.

Eyre acknowledged the tremendous amount of support and expressed her gratitude for being able to see complete strangers connect with their music.

That was the realest feeling just really seeing it touch people, Eyre said.

One of the judges in attendance was Matt Mason, a history professor at BYU who is also part of a band.

Its great fun and a great opportunity because I know whats at stake for them, Mason said.

He was eager to support all the young artists and the hard work that they put in for this competition.

I care about the students here and any chance to help them with anything, Im all in, Mason said.

Curtis Schnitzer, the drummer, said the Filibusters hope to continue their popularity in the Provo music scene.

Keep filibusting the music never stops, Schnitzer said.

Eyre and her fellow band members are already working on writing and recording new music, with the hopes of launching an EP in the next year or so.

To hear the Filibuster's music, check them out on Spotify or Apple Music.

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.