Revolution’s Battle of the Bands back for second year at WKU

Cameron Koch

The Colonnades will be filled with battling guitars and pounding drums at 5 p.m. Saturday courtesy of WKU radio station Revolution 91.7 and their second annual RevFest: Battle of the Bands.

This year 10 local bands will compete for prizes, resulting in a night of loud and free music.

The event is free and open to all ages, with donations being accepted for Rainhill Equine Facility, a local horse rescue that takes in blind, injured or old and unwanted horses that have been neglected by their previous owners.

Revolution 91.7 management chose 10 bands to perform this year: Televermin, Rainbow Kitty Kitty, Visceral Waves, Lost in Liberty, 449, Buffalo Rodeo, Featherstone, Natty Bumpoe, Friendly Christian Lazer Tag, and Technology vs. Horse.

Bowling Green senior Kayla Dowdy, station manager of Revolution 91.7, is excited about being able to do another battle of the bands.

“It worked out really well last year,” Dowdy said. “Technology vs. Horse won last year and we raised over $500 for our charity.”

Each band will perform for 25 minutes in front of a panel of judges. After the band’s performance, they will be rated according to technical skill, stage presence, originality and overall quality.

The winning band will receive $250, be named artist of the week on 91.7 next week and be invited back to headline for Revolution’s spring music festival, Mayhem.

RevFest is organized and run entirely by the Revolution staff. Dowdy said it takes all of the 50 to 60 staff members to make RevFest happen.

During College Radio Day on Tuesday, Revolution staff members set up tables in between Downing University Center and Minton Hall and continued to spread the word about both the radio station and upcoming RevFest.

“We have a bigger staff this year so it’s easier to get the word out,” Dowdy said.

Stacie Hewitt, a senior from Mt. Juliet Tenn.,  and program director at Revolution, thought last year’s Battle of the Bands was a huge success, and hopes that it will continue to be.

“We are hoping it will keep getting bigger and better,” Hewitt said.

Two of the bands to play at RevFest — Rainbow Kitty Kitty and Buffalo Rodeo — made an appearance to play at College Radio Day.

Stefan Meadows, Rainbow Kitty Kitty’s bass guitar player and lead singer, enjoyed last year’s show and said his band would be ready for this year’s battle.

“Our first show ever was RevFest last year,” Meadows said.

Meadows said the band would be playing two shows the week before RevFest and that they are “trying to get in our showmen mood.”

Meadows said he was a little worried about Technology vs. Horse taking the prize again this year, but he likes the other bands in the show.

“It’s a friendly competition but we still wanna win,” he said. “We are ready for the bloodshed that is the battle of the bands.”