DIY Battle of the Bands – WOW! What An Event

Written by Ryan on January 18, 2016. Posted in Battle of the Bands, STEAM Blog

First, a quick recap of our winners:

Elementary –

Middle –

High –

If the title didn’t emphasize it adequately, allow me to reiterate: WOW! What an event! The level of ingenuity, creativity, and craftsmanship on display from the group of young musicians and engineers from across SWFL was truly spectacular. The varied solutions we saw to the millenium-old problem of how to design a great musical instrument were a perfect mix of ingenious, beautifully simple, and hysterical. All in attendance were clearly impressed by the instruments and performances crafted by the students, and for good reason!

There were the obvious crowd favorites like the BV Gold team that not only dressed the part for their rendition of “In the Jungle”, but also had a homemade steel drum fashioned from an old propane tank that sounded like it was professionally made. There was the PVC flute from that got the crowd up our of their seats and closer to the stage to see what was making such a beautiful sound. And then there was the instrument too big for even a single adult to move, requiring an entire team to move the 7ft tall pine teepees that held the hanging glass bottles in place. These were just a few of the inspired and uniquely designed instruments on display at the first ever BIY Battle of the Bands, and that’s not even addressing the performances.

While there was always something to see at the BotB, the main stage was the focal point of most people’s attention, and the performances stole the show. BV Vikings regaled us with a stellar rendition of “Under the Sea” from The Little Mermaid down to the costumes and even a fishbowl. We have had an entire dance crew Whip and Nae Nae their way into the crowds hearts. A light saber battle, a boot stompin’ good time, and some Harry Potter sorcery all broke out on stage, keeping the crowd engaged and in awe. We can’t wait to see what happens next year!