The Tribune

By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Tribune Features Writer

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

THIS year’s Global Battle of the Bands Bahamas winner will be crowned best new band in the country and travel to Thailand to compete in the world finals of the competition.

It’s the second festival for The Bahamas and takes place at the Botanical Gardens on November 2.
A call has gone out for Bahamian bands who have what it takes to compete on the world stage.

The competition is open to all bands, including those that participated in last year’s event, excluding the winner.

Ricardo Berris chairman of GBOB Bahamas, said: “We have been getting some interest already. People have been registering, so we are getting a good response. We welcome any band that performs any genre of music.”
Mr Berris said GBOB is not a Nassau competition, any Family Island musical group that believes they are good enough to compete locally and internationally can enter.

Competing bands will be challenged to use a variety of skills to deliver their best performances of their original music compositions. No covers are allowed.

Music is to be performed live and will be judged in several rounds. During the preliminary rounds, audience members will determine which band moves forward.

In the final round national and international music industry experts will have the final say on who will be crowned “Best Band in The Bahamas”.

The winning band will be flown to Thailand in January 2014 to represent the Bahamas and compete in the GBOB World Finals.

The winner of World Finals will be awarded $100,000 worth of cash and band development packages, as well as a golden statuette for “Best New Band in the World”.

Mr Berris said one new element that has been added is an ‘orientation’ workshop.

“We wanted to prepare bands before we bring them on stage. We will talk about some of the things they can expect, and what we are expecting during the orientation workshop,” he said.

Bands will also participate in two bar crawls, ‘themed’ and ‘freestyle.’

“For the themed, bands pay tribute to pioneers in the music industry. For the freestyle, the bands have the freedom to do whatever they want,” he told Tribune Entertainment.

Last year the Botanical Gardens was transformed into the ultimate bandstand for Bahamian musicians fighting for the championship title.

‘Stinkin Wayz’ came out on top. They are also expected to perform during this year’s event.
They came third on the world stage - a huge accomplishment.

“We were ecstatic that they were recognised at the world level. We want to do some things with them in the future,” said Mr Berris.

GBOB Bahamas is the local version of Global Battle of the Bands Worldwide, the world’s largest live talent competition for bands of all genres.

GBOB Bahamas aims to ensure the event becomes the most highly anticipated and reputable annual musical event in the Bahamas.

It serves as vehicle for bands to premiere their new work, while getting musical exposure both locally and internationally.