St. Albert’s annual youth battle of the bands just announced five finalists that will go for the title during The Show 9.0.
Organized through Amplify, the talented fivesome were selected from 10 entries. They will compete for the championship title in a professionally developed concert on Friday, Sept. 27 at City Arts Space in Campbell Park. The winning group receives a $500 prize to Long and McQuade, a musical instrument retailer.
The acts are Red Earth Theory, Hannah Audrey, Madhouse, Zombiemoji and Petrichord. All the bands are new, and the battle will feature a diverse cross-section of styles. They cover a musical range from punk grunge, screamo and heavy metal, to pop and rock 'n' roll.
“When I started nine years ago, there was more folk and pop. But this year, it’s going to be very rock 'n' roll and punk – even a little bit screamo,” said Kathleen Bell, Amplify advisor.
She describes Red Earth Theory as a punk grunge band. As the youngest band competing, the foursome are Grade 10 Paul Kane High students who at times describe their music as “post hardcore.”
The band’s major influences are Refused, a Swedish hardcore punk band, Flint, a punk rock band created by Keith Flint, Smashing Pumpkins, an American alternative band and the English rock band Radiohead.
Hannah Audrey, who is a major musical lead at St. Albert Children’s Theatre, is a solo singer accompanied by a backing band. In her audition tape, she submitted the pop mega hit Hopelessly Devoted to You from Grease.
“She has a beautiful voice. It’s gorgeous and very strong. When the Amplify committee went to vote for who we wanted, Hannah came to the top almost immediately,” Bell said.
Another contestant, Madhouse, is a newly created screamo band founded by Cassius Devlin, singer and bassist for Revera, the 2022 Amplify winning band.
“This is a hardcore band. They floated to the top because they had great musicality and stage presence. Cassius is great onstage, and you can tell he loves performing. Even if it’s not the genre for you, you can tell they’re very proficient musicians.”
Zombiemoji, the all-girl five-piece from Paul Kane High includes Jordane Allen from Mothra, the 2023 Amplify reigning champs.
“The band applied with one of Bruno Mars' huge pop songs. They have a great video, were animated and they were dancing. They were having a ton of fun and clearly bringing the audience along.”
The foursome from Petrichord are the oldest contestants with musicians attending both the University of Alberta and MacEwan University. And their influences are eclectic from Led Zeppelin and Billy Talent to Morrissey and Jaco Pastorius.
“They’re very heavy and the drummer plays with a double kick and has a heavy metal sound. But the singer, Francesca Scarpella, has soaring vocals like Florence and the Machine. It’s almost operatic.”
The bands are slated to perform for 25 minutes each. During the evening’s four set changes, several dance companies have committed to entertaining the crowd. Dance Co will hold two performances. Indigenous performer Darrell Bretton is dancing a men’s fancy dance and Quincy Pipella is organizing her hip hop crew for another boisterous performance.
And the audience votes for the winning act.
“It’s going to be a blast. The bands put in so much energy and the audience is so supportive. If they’re asked to sing along or clap, they go along. And there’s lots of hooting and hollering.”
The Show 9.0 is a concert event for youth by youth. Students and musicians attending must be from Grade 7 to 21 years. The concert takes place on Friday, Sept. 27 from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at #105, 125 Carleton Drive. Tickets are $10 and are available at tickets.stalbert.ca or by calling 780-459-1542.
