Battle of Bands winners gear up for Aug. 8 regionals
Battle of the Bands competitions, often relegated to teen flicks, have become increasingly popular at Chicagoland park districts.
“It’s definitely something teens are into. There’s never been any era of our American society, when teenagers aren’t into music,” said Sarah Stefan, Algonquin battle of the bands organizer.
This year, Cary and Algonquin held competitions, the winners of which are going on to regionals at noon on Saturday, Aug. 8 at the Village of Glendale Heights Civic Center, 240 Civic Center Plaza, Cary winner My Alumni and Algonquin winner Copper Harbor will perform for the chance to move on to the state competition Aug. 22 at the Springfield State Fair.
The Illinois Parks and Recreation Association started the statewide competition out of need park district supervisors saw. They wanted to create an event where teenagers could share their talents and play shows at venues that didn’t make parents nervous.
“It started when teen supervisors in Chicago areas saw everyone doing local battle of bands so in 2002, we had the first event, with only eight bands,” Bobbi Nance, said Battle of the Bands organizer and Oak Park park district supervisor.
Since then, the competition has expanded significantly, and now includes competitions from as far away as Collinsville.
“Kids are passing it down to their siblings,” Stefan said. “I’m constantly getting e-mails about it all year.”
Bands start out at the local competition, sponsored by their local park district. The winning band then goes on to regionals. The two bands that take the top spots at regionals go to the statewide competition held at the Illinois State Fair annually. Twenty-two bands take the stage in Springfield on Aug. 22.
- By Michelle Stoffel, Triblocal.com reporter
