Virginia bands battle it out in Cville’s 13th Battle of the Bands

This weekend marked the 12th or 13th year that EpicCville has hosted Battle of The Bands. “Honestly we’ve been doing this so long I don’t even remember,” said organizer Chris Gallagher, from atop the stage set in the field at the Shops at Stonefield. 

 “I originally started Battle of the Bands because I came from a large area that had one, and Cville desperately needed an event like it. It’s a good way for smaller bands to make their way into the scene, especially the ones that haven’t played a gig before. Pre-covid we used to get over 100 bands that would apply to play, and it’s grown to the point that we have events ranging from Maryland to Virginia, and we’re prepping to start doing some in South Carolina soon,” said Gallagher.

Over 70% of proceeds go to Mason’s Toy Box, a local organization focused on providing aid and holiday gifts to families with terminally or chronically ill children, “Usually at events like this, charities only end up receiving about 10% of the money brought in from alcohol and ticket sales,” said Gallagher.

First up at 7:30 p.m. was Musical Suspects, a funk rock band with heavy elements of jazz. Unfortunately they had to leave before their interview as they had another gig in town that night.

Up next was the incredibly high energy Kings of the Wild Things, a band based out of Baltimore, Maryland. “It’s all Pop-punk, pop-punk, pop-punk… [We] play solid simple bangers,” said the band’s frontman, Oscar Sobkowicz. 

Local rapper Cheno Bliss took the stage next, with a soulful but insightful set. “I like to be self aware, and any song that I do is about that. I felt like I didn’t have a voice, and I felt like music was a way I could get my voice out there,” he said.

Opening with John Denver’s “Leaving on a Jet Plane” was Charlottesville’s own modern rock group Thebandbig. “The John Denver thing goes back to the 80’s when I was with a different band,” said guitarist Gary Hawthorne, “We’ve been in a number of bands,” said Adam “J.R.” Stoffel, “Knowing Chris, I said ‘we need to be in the battle of the bands,’ ‘we’re older, and we’re wiser,, but really we’re looking for any opportunity to get in front of people again.”

Head banging their way on stage was Smoke, a Lynchburg, VA metal band. “We started about two years ago, and just liked getting together drinking some beers and decided to do something with it,” said Dalton, the band’s singer/guitarist. “With [COVID-19] lockdown we took the time to record an album, so we’re just trying to hit it hard now.”

Last up on the stage was Lowlife Tea Party, an Alt-Rock band from Richmond with “a big ol’ rock sandwich” vibe. “I saw about RockFest in 2020 and thought it was a good opportunity for us, so I signed us up six times, and then the email came out saying we only needed to do it once, so I took the opportunity to sign up one more time just to make sure,” said the band’s drummer.

The music ended at 11 p.m. Chris and the folks that had helped set up the stage, took down the stage and packed everything up. There was an overwhelming feeling of appreciation for Chris.

“We’re really grateful for people like Chris who say ‘Come aboard, we want to do a concert to benefit [our charity],” said Kelley Kassay, Mason’s Toybox’s Co-founder and Mason’s Mother. 

“I’m really big on local charity,” said Thebandbig’s Gary Hawthorne, “I used to do what Chris does and produce charity shows, but I can’t do what Chris does anymore.He’s the man.”

On Monday, EpicCville announced the winners of the dozenth annual Battle of the Bands to be Kings of the Wild Things with Thebandbig in second place. You can find Kings of the Wild Things on Spotify or as @kingsofthewildthingsband on Instagram, and Thebandbig at www.thebandbig.com and by the same name on Facebook.