Bands build for battle at Barleycorn’s

There are other places for local up-and-coming rock acts to duke it out, Anthony Avery says, but a contest that starts this weekend at Barleycorn’s in Wichita carries some added incentive.

“Usually they have a Battle of the Bands and it’s just a Battle of the Bands,” said Avery, a performer and promoter also known as Antimosity. “They don’t get anything or achieve anything per se.”

At stake with the preliminaries, Saturday night at Barleycorn’s and a final at the Steel Bar in Wichita next month, is a prize package that includes a spot at a preshow, VIP barbecue before the Make America Rock Again tour stop Oct. 6 at The Cotillion in Wichita.

The Make America Rock Again tour includes the bands Trapt, Saliva, Saving Abel, Alien Ant Farm, Crazytown, 12 Stones and Tantric.

“It’s not only a chance for a local artist to get a platform to open up for these bands, you get a great prize package as well,” Avery said of the take, which includes a three-song demo recording from Paul’s Productions in Wichita, $100 from Phil Uhlik Music, a package from Midwest Drum & Percussion in Wichita, and headlining an after-party concert at the Steel Bar.

More than a dozen bands auditioned for the slots Saturday night, Avery said.

“We had more bands apply, but some of them weren’t the right fit” for the hard rock headliners, he added.

Avery plans to have seven bands performing Saturday at Barleycorn’s. The top three or four bands will play in the finals on Sept. 9.

Three judges will grade the bands on stage performance, song quality and originality – “not only your stage presence, but how you look, the style of the band,” Avery said.

Judges include hosts from KICT radio, one of the contest sponsors, and local music promoter Jared Parson. Wichita-based Middlemap Management is another contest sponsor.

The bands confirmed to compete are Faith in Fools, Say the Word, Perigean Tide, Sutphin and Subsurface.

Avery said he was impressed with the number of bands showing interest and said the homegrown Wichita rock scene has matured in the past few years.

“They’re always hungry for a platform,” Avery said. “The bigger we get, we forget about the dream that the young guys have, and even some older guys have, about always wanting to be in a band and be a rock star. That still is a live dream for many people.

“I think there is a great scene and there are some great bands out there locally, that have what it takes to be on the big stage and take it to the next level,” he added.

This story was originally published August 25, 2016 at 1:41 PM with the headline "Bands build for battle at Barleycorn’s."