Will Vance and the Kinfolk achieved first place by one point in the Battle of the Bands contest hosted by KSLU at Augustine's Bar last weekend. The winner received a $500 cash reward, an interview on Local Static, airplay on KSLU and a headlining show at Augustine's in Downtown Hammond.
"Battle of the Bands was a night to remember," said freshman kinesiology major Tabor Gamblin. "With some of the best people I know and best live music around that gave you the chance to escape the stresses of life for a moment.  I'm proud to say that I was here."
The five contending bands were Gethsemani, Foxfire, Chet the Swan, Will Vance and the Kin Folk and Better by Design, competing in that order. For Will Vance and the KinFolk, Will Vance performed as lead singer, John Mark Gray played guitar, Michael Gray played bass and Garland Hoover played drums.
Each band had to fill 20 minutes of performance time and were allowed to play whatever they chose as long as it did not exceed 25 minutes. Will Vance and the Kinfolk performed the songs  "Broke-Ass-Blues," "So Shall I," "Running Downhill" and "Broken Promise Land."  
"Even though the type of music played wasn't what I'm used to listening to, the excitement by the bands and the energy from the crowd made it a Thursday night with friends to remember," said junior biology major Katie Neil. "Foxfire and Chet the Swan were my favorites. Their smooth rock type of songs could fit to just about anyone's taste in music."
Omega Sound Entertainment provided lights, and Firestorm Studios provided sound. The panel of judges included KSLU alumni disc jockeys who have continued their work in the media industry.  The performances were judged by five different standards.
"This panel will judge on criteria such as audience reaction (how bands interact with the audience), musicianship (vocal quality, professionalism, synchronization, etc.), stage presence (entertaining, energetic, enthusiastic, confident), originality (unique sound/lyrics), and song composition (quality of song writing, pitch, melody)," said Monique Gregoire KSLU representative.
As it began to get later, it was clear that the first few bands were at an advantage with a positive audience reaction. However, even though Will Vance and the Kin Folk won by one point, they were clearly well-received by the audience despite performing second to last. You can now hear them on KSLU 90.9.
For more information on KSLU and upcoming events, visit southeastern.edu.