Our annual "Battle of the Bands" event which takes place each year at the end of April. Five bands compete for cash and prizes. The winning band receives a Professionally Produced Music Video.
Winner of Showdown in Wardsville 2011 - Longway
LONGWAY is a St.Thomas and London based band formed in September 2009. They play a mixture of covers and originals and have played shows at various festivals around London including Food Fest, Rib Fest, Eco Fest and Fun Fest. They have also played at Wolf Performance Hall, Norma Jean's and the London City Music Theatre. They are a group of highly energetic and enthusiastic musicians with a great passion to play and perform. They have a wide range of musical influences including Taylor Swift, Rush, Green Day, Billy Talent, Iron Maiden and Nirvana.
Second Place - Nikki Richard
With Nikki Richard, what you see is what you get. A kid at heart, and someone who wants to make a difference in the world. She's known for being a very determined individual who won't let anyone or anything get in the way of her goals. Nikki grew up in Woodstock ON, where she picked up her first guitar at age 13. She spent countless hours teaching herself how to play, and at age 16 started to write her own songs. Her first song "Leaving" was written in english class with her teacher and fellow musician. After singing the song for the class, she was asked to play a show the following night and jumped at the chance. The next performance in front of her school of over 1,000 staff and students gave her the confidence she needed to believe that she could turn a childhood dream into reality. From there her love of being on stage took off and she immediately started signing up for shows anywhere she could play. In the summer of 2008 she landed a job doing a tribute to country singer "Gretchen Wilson". "It made me realize how much fun playing music was and that I wanted to do this as a career" She recalls. "Being up on stage in front of different crowds allowed me to grow as an artist, and get comfortable with myself.". Along the way Nikki found out she had an unknown medical condition, which inspired her to use music as a way of helping others. She wrote a song called "In God's Plans" about her struggles with the condition and hopes one day her music can change someone's life for the better. "For me, going through my medical problems, there was never a song that explained exactly how I felt during the lowest points. I want to be able to help people, to let them know that even though it's a rocky road, there are definitely plenty of highs, and lots of things to be thankful for!".
Third Place - All Hazed
All Hazed formed in early November 2010 with a drummer and guitar player. After looking around London for a second guitarist they stumbled upon some new talent and their sound really started to form. Early into December they added an amazing bassist to fill out the sound and their music really began to sizzle. With the Christmas addition of a talented front man All Hazed was ready to hit the stage and start tearing apart venues with their thunderous drummer and bassist, catchy grunge rhythms, searing metal solos and to top it all off, a good serving of raw unmatched vocals. This is All Hazed. Trevor, Jaret, Gunther D, Jose, Anthony
The Long Lots
In the summer of 2007 brothers-in-law Gary Jongbloed (guitar) and Jay Amerlinck (guitar and vocals) approached their cousin Jason O'Rourke (drums) with the idea of forming a band. After a few jams, Jason's brother, Jeff O'Rourke (bass) was brought on board to complete the group and The Long Lots were born. Ranging in age from 22 to 33 they were influenced by the sounds of Johnny Cash, Neil Young, Yes and the Pixies. Fueled by their love of cold beer, good times and good music, The Long Lots set out to create their own brand of Blues and Rock indie music. Their songs are about growing up in rural Chatham Kent, working blue collar jobs, family, love and lost love. The lyrics come from the heart of Jay Amerlinck and listeners can connect with them on an emotional level. After the release of their first EP: When the Sun Goes Down, fans wanted more. The band continued writing more songs, emphasizing their dark, upbeat, and bluesy rock sound even more. In 2009, the band took their high energy show on the road, playing venues like the Phog Lounge and Coach and Horses in Windsor, ON. Aside from playing at many parties in Chatham Kent, they have played at venues such as The Elephant's Nest, the KBD, and the Encore Nightclub, as well as The Canada Day Celebration In The Park, and a Tune Out Cancer Benefit Show. In September they were interviewed by the Rock Indie Show 95.1 where their first single, Devils Hands was debut. In 2010 they started with a bang, being invited to play the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, where they rocked the show with their high energetic live performance. A video of one of the songs played that night can be viewed on www.youtube.com.(type "the long lots dirty blues" in the search box.) They also were invited to play at the CK on the Edge Festival, an Art in the Park Celebration, had another radio interview this time with 99.1 CKSX and the greatest honor of all time opening for the "DOORS" at Rockstock. These are just some of the larger venues they had the opportunity to take part in this year along with their shows at local bars throughout Western Ontario. The Long Lots were also nominated this year for an award for "Best new Blues" in Barries New Music Awards, although they did not win they were very excited just to be nominated. The Long Lots have no plans to stop, and hope to bring their brand of good old "Canadian Rock" to the fore front of the music business. You can check out their Myspace page at www.myspace.com/thelonglots, or e-mail them at thelonglots@hotmail.com.
STF Entertainment
MC Bumble Bee and Speakeazy represent STF Entertainment of London, Ontario. STF Entertainment Consists of a group of emcees and musicians from London Ontrario. In 2007 Speakeazy (Dennis Stockwell) and Bumble (Mike Donaldson) set out to make music. They sent out a demo to most of the Hip Hop groups around Ontario, including Top Billing and Admiral. They then received funding and booking from Admiral Entertainment. With this came freestyle sessions on radio stations and opening for larger acts across Ontario, most notable being Bone Thugs. Since falling apart in late 2010 Admiral Entertainment no longer exists leaving STF to fund and book themselves. Starting over, from the bottom, comes 3 groups, SPEAKEAZY, UNSPOKEN CREW and HIVE 13. All different sounds and abilities. They are hard working members of Hip Hop in London and will continue to build until it hits the top.