Kent State USG held its Battle of the Bands event for the first time March 26 in the Student Center. It was a competition between five local bands for the chance to open for The Driver Era at Flash Fest.

The participating bands were TJ Dub, Old Country Business, Sine Caterva, Austin Burks and Jason DiMarco, and Lochwood. They each performed two songs and were evaluated by a panel of judges before students voted on which band was their favorite.

“Instead of just having a regular artist like we’ve had for the past few years, we were like ‘Let’s just do something different and have students get involved,’ ” said USG Director of Programming Olivia Williams.

The band Lochwood, a newly formed five-person pop and rock band took the win and were named the official openers of Flash Fest. Other participants say it was still a valuable experience.

“I know it’s a competition, but in the end we just want people to have a good night and just get moving,” said Sine Caterva drummer Ricky Marsico.

Flash Fest will be held April 16 in the Kent State Ballroom.

KSTV Reporter Tatum Werntz has more on this lively competition.

Tatum Werntz is a reporter for KSTV. Contact her at [email protected].