Are you ready to rock out GHS? Come vote and cheer for your favorite local musicians as they compete in the Battle of the Bands fundraiser Friday night.
The event will feature performances from six local bands made up of young musicians from across the North Shore in order to raise funds for the Drama Club at GHS.
The competition is open to all different types of musicians and styles, meaning there will be a bit of a variety when it comes to performances.
“Angels From Hell” is one of the bands competing on Friday. Composed of four GHS freshmen, the band is young and has been playing together for two years now. They joined the battle as another opportunity to perform and share their love of metal music.
The band’s drummer, Nick Kilroy, said there is a lot to love about the heavy metal genre
“The distortion on the guitar, the grit in the voices, how people bring the energy to the stage,” Kilroy said. “Even when recording, they move around in the studio – they bring energy to it.”
While the band is playing covers for now, bassist Micheal White hints originals may be forthcoming: “we have a few things in the works.”
While Angels from Hell has a few gigs under their belt, audiences can look forward to the debut performance of the new band “Sweet T.”
Composed of Juniors from both Gloucester and Hamilton-Wenham, the band first established themselves in July of 2024. After performing a few summer gigs, the band added a new lead singer, GHS junior, Charlotte Morris.
“I’m excited for the competition because I haven’t performed with the band yet,” Morris said. “The rest of them have performed together before I came along, so I feel a lot of pressure from them to do well because they’ve established their skills with each other, but not with me.”
The Battle of the Bands is expected to be “lively and exciting,” Jessica Ruggles, the director of the drama program, said.
“We wanted to showcase student bands that don’t always get to perform the way adult bands do,” Ruggles said. “Restaurants and bars will have age limits, so we wanted to have an event that would allow these bands to perform and potentially make some money, while also increasing their exposure and raise money for the drama club.”
Each band will get 20 minutes to set up the stage, perform their set, and reset for the next group. The winner will be announced at the end of the night and be rewarded 20 percent of the ticket sales as a prize. The champions will be decided by three local judges who are also musicians in the area: John Barry, Jamie Klopotoski, and Joe Cardozza.
Additionally, the fans in the audience will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite, awarding the people’s choice 10 percent of the ticket sales.
“For five dollars you get in to see the event and get one vote for the people’s choice,” Ruggles said. “Additional votes cost a dollar, so bring some extra cash to give your favorite band some extra votes!”
GHS students as well as members of the community are encouraged to come enjoy an evening of live music, supporting both young artists and the GHS Drama Program.
IF YOU GO:
What: Battle of the Bands
When: Friday, February 7th, 2025
Where: Gloucester High School
How Much: $5.00 entry ticket plus $1.00 for additional votes
