by Dearbhla Parry
Five bands are taking to the stages of Ennis this Friday in the return of ‘Battle of the Bands’.
The Ennis Eccentric Music Society (EEMS) is holding another competitive night of music on August 29th at 8pm in Lucas’ Bar after the success of their first-ever Battle of the Bands in March. This event will see five original Ennis bands compete for a cash prize. Competing bands include: Iana, Paunch, Nova Dream, Animal Animal, and The Goblins. Attendees can expect music ranging from punk, grunge, and rock to alt-country and indie.
The first Battle of the Bands took place in March with groups Kilmaley Rowing Club, No Name Band, Entertainment Purposes, Bitcrush, and D’Burglary. Each one was presented with a trophy, however, it was Bitcrush who finally took away the winning €1,085 prize.
One of the bands that will be performing on the night, Iana, told the Clare Echo that they will be playing four original, unreleased songs. The year-old Ennis group, named after Princess Diana, is a four-member band made up of bass player Niall Heslin, drummer Matthew O’Connor, guitarist Cathal Hogan, and vocalist Lena Casey. Matthew said that they hope to release these “experimental” songs soon, with “vivid imagery, angst, and stories of the human experience”, described by EEMS.
“Hopefully, late September, maybe early October, we’ll be releasing music on Spotify and Bandcamp”, said Matthew.
He said, “We’ve been going to Lucas’ to watch gigs for a while. We know a lot of people who have played gigs there, a lot of our friends’ bands have played in there, and the Ennis Eccentric Music Society is a very good community of people.”
EEMS is a society trying to “revitalize the original and alternative music scene in Ennis.” Born from a shared passion for music among friends and with a welcoming home in Lucas’ Bar, their goals are to “provide musicians a stage to share original music”, to “foster community, creativity, and collaboration”, and to “inspire new musical experiences”.
The Battle of the Bands is a free event, but donations can be given on the day in cash or using QR codes posted around the venue. This is a popularity contest, so listeners are welcome to support and donate to their favourite bands. The most popular will win a cash prize.
