I ran the Battle of the Bands in Monaghan last Wednesday. The reason that I ran this is because i wanted a chance to play in a competition… Therefore my band was taking part in the contest. This may seem ironic – that I am both running and taking part in the competition – but the only reason that I ran it was because nothing like that was really available in Monaghan.

Doors opened at 8pm, and the first act were 82 Frets, a Tydavnet and Sligo twopiece featuring the almighty Luke Treanor. Heh. 8 bands participated overall, with genres ranging from metal, to punk, to psychedelic funk. The Magik Guvnors Radio Bottle won the crowd vote, while my band The Pot Smokin’ Pirates came in second. The Magik Guvnors also won Best Original Song prize, joined with The Torture House Effect, as judged by Adam Brennan from Venue Promotions.

I was pretty satisfied by how things turned out, and I hope to host another Battle of the Bands next St. Patrick’s Day.