Well, if one thing’s certain, it’s that we’ve got a lot of young musical talent in the Yukon. Last Friday night, five young bands took to the stage for BYTE’s 2015 Battle of the Bands at the Future Routes Music Festival at the Yukon College.
We were wowed by the performances. With sets by The Morgan Girls, Dirtbags, WaRRmAuth, Eat Your Friends, and MC TurMoil & Riddz, this year’s Battle of the Bands covered genres from across the board.
The Morgan Girls kicked off the show with a soulful set that combined their classic covers with powerful originals. This female duo is definitely something to look out for as they continue to develop their sound.
Photo by O’Brien Photography
Dirtbags, a spinoff of the group Zipline, played next. They got the crowd moving with dirty blues chords and rocking beats, and ended up taking home the second-place prize, a professional photo-shoot with Brett Elliot Photography.
WaRRmAuth are the next big thing in metal when it comes to Yukon artists. Their on-stage personas and charismatic stage presence made for a memorable performance that earned them third place prize—a spot at the Atlin Youth Stage during the 2016 festival.
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- Photo by O’Brien Photography
The night continued with big sounds with Eat Your Friends, a DJ / producer whose dubstep beats got the crowd pumped up and people dancing.
Then, MC TurMoil & Riddz took to the stage. They’ve grown into seasoned hip-hop artists over the past year, and their performance—complete with choreographed dance moves and audience participation—won them first place in the Battle. They’ll be able to spend three hours in the recording studio at Green Needle Records thanks to their prize.
We have little doubt that the judges had a tough time making their decision. This year’s panel of judges included representatives from Atlin Arts and Music Festival, Rendezvous, Frostbite Music Festival, What’s Up Yukon, and headliners HUMANS. We’re excited to see where this year’s winners will go—perhaps to stages at Atlin, Rendezvous, or beyond in the future!
Although the turnout to the event was lower than we hoped for, we’re so happy to see such high-caliber performances from young Yukon musicians. HUMANS closed off the night with an amazing set.
Thanks to everyone who came out to support young Yukon artists. We hope to see even more of you next year!
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Thanks to O’Brien Photography for the images below:
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