West Michigan band battle set for finals amid atmosphere of ‘mutual support’

It’s not your typical “battle of the bands.”

The Stray’s fifth annual Battle of the Bands wraps up Saturday, April 4, in Grand Rapids after a month of performances, with four diverse acts facing off in the finals: The Mannequins from Holland, Marcus AK from Grand Rapids, The Rupple Brothers from Chesaning and Ironwood from Detroit. 

But “competition” may be too strong a term to use for a month-long event that has showcased the talents of 20 Michigan artists spanning several genres.

“It's a competition in the aspect that there's a narrative to lock on to. It gives people something extra to rally behind and generates excitement for local music. Beyond that base structure of the event, we're definitely focused on being a wholesome showcase,” said Hunter VanKlompenberg, music and arts manager for The Stray at 4253 S. Division Ave.

“This year, we've been getting more interest from folks who are here to see the month-long show as a whole, rather than just hear their favorite band. We've got a number of people who bought season passes or have bought tickets to come out for multiple show nights. There's a strong sense of pride for the local music scene as a whole, in contrast to simply coming out to hear your friend's band perform. People are connecting with genres of music they may not have realized they were into.”

So while the contest will pay out more than $3,000 to performers (including $500 to the winner and $400 to the other finalists), The Stray’s band battle is really about providing exposure to a bevy of emerging artists, aka, “a lot of new faces.”

“For the majority of this year's competitors, this is the first time we're working with them on a show, including finalists Marcus AK (electronic pop-rock) and The Mannequins (indie-rock). It's sparking a lot of ideas for future shows and helping create crosstalk between bands that may not have crossed paths otherwise,” VanKlompenberg said.

“The talent level is high. Numerous acts that are just starting to make a local name for themselves should be opening for larger touring acts. They’ve got the chops and it won’t take long until they’ve got a following to boot.”

Acts this year have covered a gamut of styles — grunge, electronic pop-rock, Irish music, folk and more — and have come from across the state, including Chesaning psychedelic folk outfit The Rupple Brothers (which won Round 3) and Detroit Celtic-folk duo Ironwood (which won Round 4).

“During Ironwood's acceptance speech, they mentioned how cool it is to drive across the state and have literally only their parents in the room know who they are, but still manage to build such a strong connection with an audience entirely full of new listeners,” VanKlompenberg said. “This sort of thing is needed if we want to have a music ecosystem that allows emerging talent to grow.”

In essence, the battle has become a friendly competition with performers championing each other.

“The thing that unites everyone is mutual support for each other's art,” he said. “It's been hard to find a cut-throat attitude at any of these shows and that's fantastic for fostering a collaborative environment.”

The finals begin at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

— Find more Michigan music news and concert listings at LocalSpins.com. Email John Sinkevics at john@localspins.com.