On Friday, Oct. 29, Thunder 91.1 will host the second annual Battle of the Bands: Thunderground from 6-8 p.m. in the Sharwan Smith Student Center Ballroom.
Southern Utah University students, faculty and the Cedar City community are all invited to come listen to these talented T-Birds. This year’s follow-up event is sure to be even bigger and better than its 2021 predecessor.
Last year’s event had six bands composed of SUU students fighting it out for the top prize with the band Yonic Geode winning the battle. The winners got coverage all over SUU News and the radio station.
“We had then come on with the morning a couple of times,” KSUU Station Manager Ryan Steineckert said. “After they won, we got to talk to them about how they formed and what they wanted to get out of music and things like that.”
Steineckert has been the station manager for Thunder 91.1 for two years, and when he started he wanted to create an event where music lovers and listeners could all enjoy together.
“Thunder 91 used to do a thing called Guitars: Unplugged,” he said. “And I wanted to get something like that going again, so I asked the students ‘Well what do you guys think would be best?’ We came to a conclusion that a battle of the bands type would be a better contest.”
This year, Thunderground will feature three new bands and six solo artists all going for this year’s grand prize of $250 and merchandise from three different music stores across Cedar City.
During the first battle of the band’s event, the entire show was held digitally due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This time the event will be hosted digitally and with a live audience in attendance.
“Last year we held the event digitally. And because of this we thought we’d get SUUTV and the University Journal involved to make it even more of a learning experience for everyone,” Steineckert said. “We will have a live audience this year as well. Admissions are free, but we do ask that everyone bring a non-perishable food item and we will be donating all those to the Hope Pantry here on campus.”
There is no one type of music or genre being performed at this year’s contest. The nine acts are diverse and each sent a demo tape to audition for the event. There is a wide range from covers to original pieces.
Article by: Reese Whitaker
life@suunews.net
