It was a wild and wildly eclectic night in Santa Barbara music this past Friday. For this year’s installment of the Independent and New Noise Santa Barbara’s Downtown Sound Battle of the Bands, six acts took the stage SOhO Restaurant & Music Club for a chance to win over $7,000 worth of prizes. By the end of the sets, Santa Barbara garage punk rockers The Reignsmen were crowned victorious, thanks to a combination of audience votes and judges’ scorecard tallies.
While The Reignsmen delivered a strong and high-energy set well deserving of the win, it stands to mention that every one of Friday’s acts brought the thunder. The evening started strong with S.B. lo-fi pop rock trio Easy Bear, which was followed by neo-soul/funk rockers The Sidewalk Affair. The all-instrumental surf rock sounds of Kelp solidly held down the night’s center spot, while 14-year-old powerhouse Jamey Geston, Lompoc hardcore act Bears Among Men, and The Reignsmen finished out the night.
In addition to cash and prizes, which included guitars and gear from Ernie Ball, pro recording time from Playback Recording Studio, marketing materials from CoMotion Media, photography from Lady McClintock Studios, apparel from Powell Peralta, and gift certificates from Lazy Acres, The Palace Grill, Fuel Depot, Fairview Carwash, The Reignsmen will be featured in next week’s music issue of the Santa Barbara Independent, as well as score a slot on KJEE 92.9FM, and a spot at this year’s New Noise Music Conference and Festival.
Congrats to all who participated!