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CiVL Battle of the Bands kicks off in Aldergrove

The video has brief clips from Ria Jade, Lakeisha Hewitt, Michael Jantzen, Friends of Mine, Matt Lowen, Kat & Tony & Cam, and Old Mare
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CiVL Battle of the Bands coordinators James Kasper


The opening night of the 2016 CiVL Battle of the Bands took place at Bob's Steakhouse in Aldergrove, Wednesday, June 15, 2016.

Nine contestants gave "shotgun-style" performances, two or three songs.

The video has brief clips from each artist's performances that night, in order of appearance: Ria Jade, Lakeisha Hewitt, Michael Jantzen, Friends of Mine, Matt Lowen, Kat & Tony & Cam, and Old Mare Chris Janzen.

Four more evenings of the preliminary rounds are scheduled before the July 16 Gala finale decides the winner.

Scheduled are:

• Friday, June 17 at Captain's Cabin in Mission: North Hill, Villain Villain, Curse the Forsaken, Molly Be Damned;

• Thursday, June 23 at Grassroots, Surrey: Grvity Pistol, MG Graveyard, Stereo Anthems, Paravel;

• Friday, June 24 at Spotted Owl, Abbotsford: Intoxicated by…, Subcoastal, Alex Rake, Casinos, Sleep Science, Like Bears;

• Sunday, July 2 at Phoenix in Abbotsford: My Goal is Tel, Sylvia Platters, Lou Danger and Doja.

Start times each night are 8:15 p.m. and a suggested donation of $5 will be shared by the night's winner and CiVL.

The nine live performances announced for the July 16 Gala are:

Hip Hop Nominee SAINT SOLDIER;

Blues Nominee HARPDOG BROWN;

Folk/Roots Nominee MATT LOWEN;

Pop Nominee THE KWERKS;

Experimental Nominee KIN;

A special Prince medley performed by nominees from the For & By Youth category: Ria Jade, Quinn Sojonky, and IshDaFish; and

Performances by three Battle of the Bands finalists.

“The gala is shaping up to be an outstanding show,” says FVMA coordinator James Kasper.

“Performers tend to raise their game when it comes to larger-scale events like this, so we are excited to see what hits the stage that night. Between the live performances and the excitement over the awards themselves, it’ll be a memorable night.”

Tickets to this event are available through the FVMA page on CIVL Radio’s website, at civl.ca/fvma

The station has elected to go with a crowdfunding campaign for tickets sales, to make the process more fun and to raise funds for current and future production costs. Funds raised will also raise the bar for providing benefits to winners and nominees. Concert-goers have the choice of simply purchasing a ticket or investing in larger incentive packages which include a Pre-Gala VIP Dinner, a signed-by-the-artists FVMA compilation album of Fraser Valley acts, All-Access Passes to the entire series of FVMA events in June and July, and advertising opportunities for local businesses.

“We have been so excited about the response from artists to this initiative, with most thanking us for putting together such an inclusive and effective event for their networking, skill-building, and promotional needs,” says CIVL station manager Aaron Levy.

“Our Education Day was a huge success, and we think Valley musicians are going to benefit immediately from the opportunities the FVMAs have provided to nominees and applicants alike.”

Anyone who has questions about the the Fraser Valley Music Awards is welcome to email fvma@civl.ca