The 2026 Lake Superior State Battle Of The Bands Review!!

My review of this event was delayed a few days due to our usual weekend concert preview cycle conflicting with when I would have normally began typing it out, but I made the slightly impromptu call to head over to Sault Michigan to check out the fourth annual Lake Superior State University Battle of the Bands on Wednesday! Returning to their on-campus Arts Center, this is the second time that I have crossed the border to check out the festivities (following 2024), and it was a good day to do so given the dramatically increased cash prizes and larger advertised lineup. Attendance in the the theater wasn't sold out, but a good sized crowd turned out, aided in part by a large group of students from a high school downstate (I think it was a marching band). The crowd was vocal and attentive as you'd hope, and compared to 2024, there was a surprising amount of impromptu clapping along with certain artists. Always good to see an invested audience like this!

The MC of the battle this year was Ryan Maurer, an accomplished local actor who you may recognize from Soo Improv, Yooper Frankenstein, and various stage productions. He's also married to Sara Maurer, an adjunct instructor and writing tutor in LSSU's arts department. Judges included Dr. Jason Swedene (an LSSU professor who competed in the last two battles with The Undecideds and Socrates & The Caveman) and current students Nathan Piche, Jack Callaghan, and Victor TenElshof. I do not know if the judging criteria has changed since 2024 (re: was each judge scoring on one specific aspect or were they all assessing everything now), but Ryan's pre-battle specifics weren't as detailed as Noah Luce's were two years ago. I will note that Ryan was still referring to this as the third annual battle, omitting the fan-voted 2023 debut event won by The Sole Aggressors. Unchecked error or is this a retcon because of the lack of judges in 2023?

Eight scheduled acts were blocked in 15 minute timeslots, but the lineup was gradually impaired by artist withdrawals that I'll address as Ryan mentioned them. The opening act on Wednesday was new jazz fusion sextet FusionCore, made up of current Sault Area High School students. Despite being the biggest band on the bill, they had the shortest set, playing for only 7 minutes! I'm not sure if this was due to their inexperience and/or the late 7:06 PM start time, but they didn't have any clear song breaks either, and no real crowd banter, Still, the kids were dressed to impress and have a promising ska-heavy sound that you certainly don't get much of in the EUP! I couldn't easily make out the singer's voice, but Byron Hockersmith made for a good effect by leaving stage and coming back with a trumpet of his own to play. They do need to work on their stage presence, but FusionCore are off to a good start! 

The first of three solo competitors was next, namely local singer/guitarist Danielle "Dee" Homminga, a rising local musician and performance artist who also appeared in Yooper Frankenstein. Despite FusionCore's short set, Dee didn't begin performing until 7:22 PM due to technical difficulties, but she still had a longer set featuring three covers, including of Dolly Parton and Cage The Elephant songs. Dee's guitar work wasn't perfect but she has a nice voice and she had a natural rapport with the audience, and she has a bright future of her own ahead! The third performer on Wednesday was supposed to be local indie rock singer/guitarist Adam Alford, but he no-showed the battle (unlike with Sonic Dazye's withdrawal in 2024, Adam's absence was announced to the live audience). Adam clarified on his personal Facebook page that he caught a cold, and you know how that can affect a singing voice, but check his original music out on streaming!

The opening half of the battle concluded with new local classic rock/country act Whiskey Red, featuring singer Holly Sibbald (ex-Small Town Society) and guitarist Jason Lamoreaux (ex-Full Throttle) joined here by bassist Mark Blackwood. Possibly because of Adam dropping out, they got a longer four song set, including covers of songs by Zach Bryan and The Devil Makes Three, plus a closing original about drug addiction. I wasn't familiar with Whiskey Red, but I did find that country rock covers suited Holly better than what we heard at the 2024 battle, and Jason's shared lead vocals on "Something In The Orange" were well implemented, as was strong fan interaction. I'm not a country guy, but they delivered well! After a 15 minute intermission, the battle resumed with Dynamix, and while initial promotion didn't say they were one & the same, we can now confirm that they are the renamed evolution of reigning champs The Dynamic Duo.

The band confirmed this on their Facebook page, and as such, ex-Absolute bassist Bill Spence and drummer Dan Jackson have joined Danielle Petingalo and Ben Huyck in this mixed genre cover quartet. Set times definitely appeared to be growing as the night went on, as Dynamix played five songs, including covers of Gretchen Wilson, Halsey, Alannah Myles (always a trip seeing an EUP band covering Cancon), and The Cranberries. I wasn't at last year's battle, and Bill & Dan only joined this band a month ago, but Dynamix came in with the fullest presentation as an established band here, covering a diverse array of music with energy and enthusiasm, and you wouldn't have guessed that this foursome only united as a full band recently! The next set belonged to veteran local folk musician Kevin Blakeney, who is one of just two performers to have competed in all three four LSSU battles of the bands to date.

The slow growth of set lengths continued, as Kevin played six songs, including a Blue Stones cover and his originals "Gone Are The Days", "Babe", "Thank God For The TV", and "The Burning". You did get a sense of Kevin's discontent with the state of the world in some of his lyrics, but he performed well with his requisite grit and determination, and the crowd got into it, with a surprising amount of impromptu clapping! Good stuff for fans of acoustic singer/songwriters, and if he played shows in Sault Ontario, he'd find a strong audience here too (granted, every performer here would!) The penultimate band was supposed to be returning local rap duo Tunngtyed, but they dropped out on short notice due to an unspecified emergency. Hopefully all is well with The Baztad and G-Blunt, though I wonder if their and Adam's withdrawals helped explain why set times got progressively longer as the night wore on?

After all, they had two hours to fill, though it does work out that the band order put all returning acts after the intermission, so they benefited from any timeslot extensions (if so, I feel really bad for FusionCore!). We did have one more change to the performers though, as About:Blank drummer Kade DesArmo was called into work late on Wednesday and was unable to compete. Luckily, frontman Parker Talentino is also a solo musician who competed as such here in 2024, so he reverted to acoustic singer/songwriter mode as a result. Note that Parker is the other performer to play at every LSSU Battle, having played with Tarnished in 2023 and with About:Blank last year. While Ryan did invoke the About:Blank name still for introductions, this was a Parker solo set otherwise, and he played eight songs, including originals like "Given What I Got", "When I Fall", and "Already Been Said", plus a Green Day cover.

Another entertaining set for fans of acoustic alt-rock, and Parker had good candor and explanations of his music, with some enthusiastic fan input at points! I do prefer the heavier About:Blank, but Parker's solo music has seemed to take a back seat to his band, so it was a nice change of pace to dip back into that well! While judges deliberated and tallied their scores, Ryan plugged upcoming Arts Center events and interviewed some of the performers. All sixteen performers on Wednesday were on stage for the announcements of the winners, and taking home the $1,000 first place prize were.... Dynamix! Make it two straight battle victories for this band regardless of name, which is a huge feather in Danielle & Ben's caps in particular, and it will be interesting to see where Dynamix go locally in the near future! Whiskey Red claimed the $500 second place prize.

Even without Kade present, Parker claimed the $250 third place prize, giving him two podium finishes at local battles in a row (About:Blank won $500 for finishing third at the Superior Whitefish Festival Battle of the Bands in Brimley in July). Congratulations to all of the prize winning artists! In spite of the late artist withdrawals and the slow increase in set time lengths, this was a fun evening of EUP talent, but I've really gotta get across for a Sault Michigan show that isn't a battle of the bands! Hopefully this event returns next fall, even if it stays on a Wednesday (the first three were Thursday nighters), and there's so much talent in Northern Michigan that deserve to get the spotlight, especially from Canadian readers. You can check out our photos from the battle at this link or via our Facebook page, limited to 5 apiece because I didn't realize that FusionCore were playing an abbreviated set and I needed to film something.

As for my videos, here's FusionCore playing the end of their un-introduced last (only?) song, Dee Homminga covering Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams", Whiskey Red covering Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs' "Li'l Red Riding Hood" (with healthy audience involvement), Dynamix covering Audioslave's "Like A Stone", Kevin Blakeney playing his original "Remember Palestine", and Parker Talentino playing his own "Running From The Day"!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and features on the SMS as we wind down October next week! Thanks everyone!

SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The 2025 Lake Superior State University Battle Of The Bands!!)

Six local acts will face off in the third annual Lake Superior State University Battle of the Bands on THURSDAY at the on-campus Arts Center! Apologies for the short notice, the final lineup was only revealed on the Arts Center's Facebook page this past Wednesday, though details on some of the acts were not immediately available, with posts introducing them being staggered over the past week. The second major battle in the E.U.P. this year (following the Superior Whitefish Festival one in Brimley in July), this year's LSSU Battle will feature six acts (down one from 2024) vying for battle supremacy, and we have a guaranteed first-time winner ahead, as The Sole Aggressors broke up this summer and Molly Escherich is attending the Interlochen Center for the Arts. Two performers are returning solo musicians from last year, including veteran folk singer/guitarist Kevin Blakeney, which makes him the only act to play at all three LSSU battles.

Joining him again is Kaleb Shannon, who now performs under the solo handle NDN Summer, but don't bypass either as a contender on THURSDAY, as Kaleb did win the $750 second prize at the Superior Whitefish Festival Battle (which Kevin also competed in). Will they appeal to the judges at the Arts Center this time around? Of the four bands competing on THURSDAY, the most familiar to SMS readers will be hard rock/punk band About:Blank (who performed at the Superior Whitefish Festival's Music In The Park concert, but not the battle). This will be a special two-man acoustic set, as guitarist Nathan Webber (one of Molly's victorious Other Guys from last year) will be absent himself, so frontman Parker Talentino (a solo competitor from the 2024 LSSU Battle) and drummer Kade DesArmo will press onward. Will Kade's presence push Parker into the winning position? Find out on THURSDAY!

The other three acts are brand new to me, including Socrates & The Cavemen, a new band from LSSU philosophy/humanities professor Jason Swedene, who played bass for last year's competing indie rock quartet The Undecideds alongside his son Calvin (formerly of the Sole Aggressors). In this new project, Jason is "The Cavemen" while Socrates is his other son William, but the descriptions don't outright say what they'll play beyond teasing a soul/funk influence. We'll find out on THURSDAY! New local rap duo Tunngtyed (featuring MCs Tha Baztad and G-Blunt) and new local acoustic project The Dynamic Duo (featuring singer Danielle Petingalo and guitarist Ben Huyck) round out the battle roster, which means that this year's battle has no bands with more than two advertised members, whereas there were four with 3+ members in each of the last two years. To me, this leaves the field wide open, so it's anyone's guess who will win!

And no, Tarnished/Crush frontman Alex Traynor (with or without his poofy white coat) is not playing on THURSDAY despite being on the promotional poster. If things are formatted identically to last year, the 2025 LSSU Battle will be judged by LSSU faculty and a student representative, who all are scoring on one individual criteria apiece, and acts will likely be blocked for 15 minutes apiece, giving room for 3-4 songs each. Prizes for the battles so far were $150 for first place and $50 for second place (both as gift cards), with third place and beyond not announced. Admission on THURSDAY will be $10 for general audiences and $5 for kids 10 and under, while current LSSU students, faculty, and staff will get in for free. A 7:30 PM start time is advertised, and it should be an early night once again given the formatting. While I wish the lineup was announced with a little more notice, there should be a great batch of music in store for attendees!

I'm unsure if I'll be going to this year's battle, but I went last year (here's my review), and the talent base and support for the performers was very encouraging! This year hasn't been the easiest in terms of cross-border relationships with the tariffs and whatnot, but it'd be great to see some Sault Ontarians come across to check out the Yoopers competing on THURSDAY, and best wishes to everyone as they vie for first place! Visit the above links for more on this year's battle, and stay tuned for results and fallout when/if it goes live! Thanks everyone, and good luck!

The 2024 Lake Superior State University Battle Of The Bands Review!!

Here's a rarity for the SMS that I hope won't be so rare in the future: A review of a concert in Sault Michigan! On Thursday, Lake Superior State University hosted their second annual community battle of the bands at the on-campus Arts Center, and after missing last year's (I was seriously planning on hopping the border for it before getting a cold), I saw a golden opportunity to bear witness to my first local battle since the pandemic began! Just nice to see one take place in the E.U.P., there haven't been many compared to Sault Ontario. For readers unfamiliar, the Arts Center is LSSU's theater/auditorium at the far left of campus, roughly opposite their bookstore, and it remains as nicely laid out and professional as it was when I was a student there over a decade ago! Tickets were at a proper booth with concessions, and while the start was delayed a bit, there was a decent turnout in the auditorium for the battle on Thursday night!

By no means was it sold out, but I'd estimate 100-200 people were in attendance, and they were very vocal and loud for all acts! The MC of the battle was Arts Center director and LSSU assistant theater professor Noah Luce, while the four judges included two deans at the university (Mindy McCready and Steven Johnson), Arts Center business manager Melissa St. John, and Jillian Roush, who I believe was a current student representative. In terms of the judging criteria, this battle was handled very differently than others I've seen, as each judge individually handled one metric rather than judging each band on all points. One judge scored solely on originality, stage presence, and preparation each, while Jillian handled the audience vote. To that end, Noah encouraged attendees to cheer as loud as they could for each act after their sets for judging purposes. Acts competing on Thursday had a 15 minute set like last year, meaning that they got to play three or four songs each

Unfortunately, there was a late band withdrawal, as Traverse City hard rock band Sonic Dayze did not perform on Thursday for unannounced reasons. Hopefully nothing too serious happened, it would have been neat to see them in action! The stage setup for the bands was quite cavernous with lots of room to roam if need be, while the three solo musicians performed with a curtain behind them, and regardless, a projection screen displayed the band's name or logo above or behind them. The first act on Thursday was new local rock band Small Town Society, who united vocalist Holly Sibbald, ex-Double Jack guitarist Melvin Willis, (stand-up!) bassist Chris Bennett, drummer Daniel Jackson, and in a surprise not indicated in advance, veteran local guitarist "Blind" Bob Quinn Musically, the Small Town Society covered three songs, including Radiohead's "Creep" and Hozier's "Too Sweet".

Nothing too heavy, but they were a talented band with some solid professionalism for night #1 together, and Holly sure traveled the stage on most of their set! It was neat seeing Chris break out a big stand-up bass too (shades of The Rising Tide there), and they seemed to get a solid response, but it'll be interesting to see where things go for a longer show! Second was the night's first solo act, namely Kaleb Shannon, a local pop rock singer/guitarist who played four songs, including "Acceptance" and three that he mostly described the origins of, but didn't directly name. Kaleb had a natural ease about him and a good rapport with the audience that masked some of the hiccups between his songs! He has a good voice and writes some direct and honest, but upbeat, lyrics, and he has a bright future! Third up on Thursday was solo performer #2, namely veteran local folk singer/guitarist Kevin Blakeney, who returned from last year's battle for a four song set of his own.

Kevin played songs named "Thank God For The TV", an instrumental that I think he called "Angry Man", and a short song he wrote for his granddaughter named "Butterfly". Kevin's matter-of-fact folk rock was well performed and had a strong grit to it, with his vocals reminding me of a cross between Tom Waits and Mark Knopfler (which is certainly not a bad thing). It's tough to assess solo musicians against bands at a judged battle setting, but he left a distinct impression! Local metal/hard rock band Tarnished were next, though not as fans have seen them live this fall. Rather than have Chris Leask & Ron Suchey back as the rhythm section, Alex & Josh called in Destini Smith & Molly Escherich (more on her in a bit) to fill in for the night. Kudos for supporting young local talent! Tarnished and crew played a three song set, including covers of Cameo's "Word Up" (yes) and Judas Priest's "Living After Midnight"

Notably, frontman Alex Traynor did not play guitar at all, instead singing in his finest fuzzy white coat. Gotta be honest, I wanted to see him shredding along with Josh Fair (exclusively called Josh Tyler here) on Thursday, but his vocals suited the songs well with good energy! Destini's bass wasn't working on their opening song, but she and Molly acquitted themselves well, and Tarnished got fans going well with good audience involvement and some solid rock throughout! After a brief intermission, the battle resumed with the band advertised as Unsure, but it seems that they were unsure about that moniker, and instead performed as "The Undecideds". So, who are they? Well, if you were wondering why 2023 battle winners The Sole Aggressors didn't come back, this band may explain why! As far as I'm aware, Sole Aggressors frontman Calvin Swedene and drummer Isaac Brindley were in The Undecideds.

They were joined by a keyboardist named Frank, as well as Calvin's dad (I think) Jason Swedene on bass. Jason happens to be an arts, letters, and social sciences professor at LSSU, for the record. Unlike the Sole Aggressors, The Undecideds played a reserved indie/alternative sound, but were the only band on Thursday to play an all-original set, with their four songs including ones named "In Heaven" and (I think) "Strawberry Pond", with Frank singing lead on their closer. I do prefer what I've heard of the Sole Aggressors, but the songs here had merit for indie rock fans! I would heavily encourage the guys to work on their stage presences though, as they were very stiff, and their set ended very abruptly without a thank you to the fans. Promising musicians in this group though, and the crowd response was good! The penultimate performer on Thursday was former Tarnished bassist Parker Talentino.

He played three originals (including "Already Been Said" & "Barter") as well as a cover of Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)". Despite a brief technical glitch at the start when there was no microphone for him to use (Noah lent his for the set), Parker performed well with his own brand of alternative rock originals, showing off a good melodic singing voice and a relatability with his lyrics! Definitely a far cry from what he played with Tarnished at this event last year (the 2023 battle was his debut with them), but a strong effort and it came off naturally! Last but not least were Molly & The Other Guys, a one-off(?) live band to support last year's runner-up artist, Dafter singer/guitarist Molly Escherich. She was joined here by former Tarnished guitarist Nathan Webber, founding/current Tarnished frontman Alex Traynor on bass, and Exit 808 drummer Jackie Moon.

I'm not one to make a big deal about musician ages, but Molly is twelve years old, and even if you put aside the ample cheering section that came out to support her and The Other Guys (they even brought signs and t-shirts!), her talents were on full display both here and when she drummed with Tarnished! The crew covered Hole's "Celebrity Skin" and Evanescence's "Bring Me To Life" during their three song set, and while the intro to the latter song felt kind of off, everyone performed well, and it was nice to see Nathan shredding with good enthusiasm on stage again! Molly got a strong backing band here, and while her voice did get a bit strained late, she has a very bright future, and again, she's twelve! While judges deliberated and tallied the scores, Noah promoted upcoming Arts Center events, and the prizes were unchanged from last year ($150 for first place, $50 for second, both as gift cards).

The winners of the 2024 Lake Superior State University Battle of the Bands are... Molly & The Other Guys, and given the rock attack and fan response, I'm not too shocked by that! It's a solid jump for Molly after finishing second as a mostly solo act last year (fan-only voting acknowledged), and hopefully she rides this momentum well as she develops as a musician! Tarnished claimed second place after missing the podium outright last year, so kudos to Alex and Molly for sweeping both prizes! Like last year, third place was not announced. Everything ended around 10:00 PM, so it was a nice early evening for this all-ages event, and things seemed to go well for all involved! As a relative outsider to Sault Michigan concerts (I really must continue fixing that), there was a lot of strong talent on display from the bands, Kaleb, Kevin, and Parker, and I do hope that the university brings this back next fall!

You can check out our photos from the battle at this link or via our Facebook page, and yes, I did get a video of each band, namely everyone's first song! Given the short sets, that was the easiest way to ensure everyone was filmed, so apologies to Tarnished for filming the one song where Destini's bass wasn't working! If it helps, it wasn't obvious in the moment. In order, here's The Small Town Society covering The Black Keys' "Wild Child", Kaleb Shannon playing an un-introduced original song, Kevin Blakeney playing "Gone Are The Days", Tarnished covering AC/DC's "Highway To Hell", The Undecideds playing an original song that may be named "Sad People Are Beautiful Things", Parker Talentino playing "When I Fall", and Molly & The Other Guys covering Flyleaf's "Fully Alive"!

I hope you guys liked this extended battle of the bands review, and for Sault Ontario readers, don't bypass the bands and musicians in the Eastern Upper Peninsula. Its a smaller area, but there's a lot of talented artists who would benefit from getting hits and fans in Canada, let alone attendance at their shows if you've able to cross the border! That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Punk Band, Plus More LSSU Battle Of The Bands Fallout!!

On this (American) Thanksgiving eve, we're heading back to Sault Michigan to continue looking at the fallout of a big concert event last week, tied in with a new addition to our band links, so here's what you should know!

In resuming our coverage of the Lake Superior State University battle of the bands from this past Thursday, let's add the winners to our links and full coverage, namely new local punk quartet The Sole Aggressors! While they were already on Instagram and YouTube, it's their new Facebook page that gets them linked on the SMS, though be advised that it was created as a personal account rather than a proper "page", so you have to add them as a friend or follow them rather than "like" them. Oddly, The Sole Aggressors haven't posted their identities online publically at press time, but thanks to an e-mail from the band over the weekend, I can confirm that their lineup consists of singer Henry Boucher, guitarist Brett Siesel, bassist Calvin Swedene, and drummer Isaac Brindley. None are familiar from prior local bands, though most of them get Google hits from their involvement in Sault Area High School sports competition in recent years.

The Sole Aggressors debuted at Bird's Eye Outfitters in August, with the battle at LSSU's Arts Center being just their second concert, and not every band can say that they won a battle of the bands within two gigs of their inception! Yes, it was fan voted, but even if you read that as a popularity contest, they still already have a good following and/or were impressive enough to sway the audience! While not filmed for Molly Escherich's channel (more from her in a bit), a band representative did film The Sole Aggressors' entire set, and partly thanks to punk lending itself to shorter songs, the guys crammed in seven songs into their allotted 15 minutes on Thursday. The set started with original songs named "Reject" & "Kill Thy Neighbor", followed by a trifecta of Black Flag covers ("Six Pack", "Jealous Again", and "Depression"), and two more originals to cap things off with ("State Of The World" & an instrumental named "Fool").

Adding to their surprise victory at the battle is that Henry was unable to perform at the event for unannounced reasons, so Brett handled vocals in his place (reminds me of when the future Bring The Fallen debuted short-handed at a battle of the bands in Sault Ontario and still won it). We'll share their Bird's Eye concert video (featuring Henry) in an upcoming post, but they did pull of a solid set without him on Thursday, and Calvin's loud, crunchy bass was nice to hear too! Seeing teenagers in the E.U.P. playing hardcore punk this capably is extremely welcomed, let alone with originals already, and hopefully The Sole Aggressors have much more ahead, but give their battle set a watch below!

The Sole Aggressors edged out Molly Escherich by three votes to win the battle, and as we already featured her battle set the last time we covered the event, let's jump to the third place finishers, namely new local hard rock quartet Double Jack, who made their live debut on Thursday. Molly's YouTube channel actually got uploaded two different copies of their set (and much more, stay tuned), including the raw vertically shot copy, but I embedded the longer version that was zoomed/cropped to normal landscape orientation to focus on the stage, which looks much better. The last of the six acts to perform at the battle, Double Jack's set started with covers of Steppenwolf's "Born To Be Wild", Seether's "Gasoline",  and a medley of portions of Metallica's "Master Of Puppets", The Kinks' "You Really Got Me" (coincidentally covered in full by Tarnished earlier that night), and Green Day's "Brain Stew", all with bassist Isaac Royer on lead vocals.

In a surprise at set's end, Molly walked out on stage and jokingly shoved Isaac away before taking over vocals for covers of Alice In Chains' "Man In The Box" & "Wonderwall" Lit's "My Own Worst Enemy". We'll have more from the Double Jack/Molly collaboration soon, but the band sounded good for their debut live gig, no doubt helped by Isaac & Nathan's existing Tarnished chemistry, and Isaac was up to the challenge vocally, though it'll be interesting to see how big his range is. Molly fit in well on plugged in rock songs, and it was a neat bonus to cap the battle of the bands with, so give Double Jack's complete set a watch below!

Finally, local singer/guitarist and Rudyard Musicians Festival regular Kevin Blakeney also competed on Thursday, and like Molly and the Sole Aggressors, he had his set filmed for his own YouTube channel. With Molly also filming Tarnished and Double Jack, that just leaves Heavy Lies The Crown without a public video from their set (that I presently know of), but stay tuned in case one turns up! Kevin was the only performer on Thursday who did not play metal or punk, but seeing as this is a battle of the bands that I was actually planning to attend before catching a cold last week, I'll talk about his set here! Kevin started with original songs named "Gone Are The Days", "Won't You Come With Me", and "Thank God For The TV", before covering Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" and (I kid you not) Pinkfong's "Baby Shark". If you like gritty acoustic folk music, you'll take to Kevin's set!

Kevin possesses a distinct, deep & weathered singing voice that will appeal to Tom Waits fans, and while the audio quality on his camera isn't as pristine compared to his battle cohorts, you can tell that he has songwriting talent! Unfortunately, the video was mostly uploaded sideways, and between songs, they put the camera down, leading to black screens and shuffling noises, so be advised of technical quirks. Check it out below!

Whether Heavy Lies The Crown's battle set surfaces in video format or not, we're not quite done with LSSU battle fallout on the SMS, so stay tuned for that in the coming days, but for all of our American readers, have a happy Thanksgiving tomorrow, and stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!