by Heather Lovejoy
Bragging rights go to the pop-punk quartet Palm Trees & Power Lines this year. On Saturday, they won the eighth annual Teen Battle of the Bands at the Main Library in Downtown Jacksonville.
It’s always refreshing to see young talent taking chances. Even better, it’s great to see parents and a community supporting and encouraging them. As a volunteer judge, I had the pleasure of a front-row seat to both. I was joined by three other judges, and after watching four bands from Northeast Florida play 15-minute sets, we didn’t have an easy task.
Palm Trees & Power Lines’ energetic stage antics and crowd-pleasing interaction landed them on top. Singer and guitarist Josh Cravey said the band members, ages 16 to 18, are from Jacksonville but live in Callahan. Shafer Tasso plays lead guitar, Casey Johnson plays drums and Kyle Bailey plays bass. It was their three-year anniversary as a band, and they had competed in the library’s teen battle before. So despite losing points for technical difficulties (Tasso broke a string and had to run backstage for his back-up guitar), their experience gave them an edge of confidence and ease, as well as a well-developed sense of band image and direction.
Second place went to Eviction, a group of strong competitors from Mandarin who play a mix of heavy metal and hard rock. They were tailed closely by newcomers Jake Calhoun & the Soul Connection and Joker’s Wild.
Palm Trees & Power Lines chose the grand prize of a $200 gift card to the Music & Arts retail store in Mandarin over a three-hour recording session at Sunburst Studios, which went to Eviction. That’s because Palm Trees & Power Lines is already preparing to release their first EP, Cravey said. “ Diversity,” featuring three original songs recorded locally at Platinum Sound, will be released this summer. They perform regularly around town, and past gigs have been at venues such as the Murray Hill Theatre, Jack Rabbits, Brewster’s Roc Bar and Freebird Live. They don’t have any dates set right now, but watch palmtreespowerlines.tumblr.com for upcoming show dates and news of the EP.
Local Teen Bands Compete
by 
FOLIO
FOLIO 
SUBMIT EVENTS
Advertisements
Latest from Music
It’s a wedding party at THE WEDDING SINGER
Throw back to the days of disco, overdone perms for women and long hair for men, and you’ve got the makings of the party that is THE WEDDING SINGER. The show opens at a wedding reception, where lead singer Robbie Hart (Jake Pearce) is singing with his bandmates Sammy (Paul
Lovett or Leave It
Lyle Lovett returns to Florida Words by Shelton Hull By the time Lyle Lovett and his Large Band return to the Florida Theatre on Thursday night, October 3, he will have been on the road for months, but you won’t know that from watching him on stage. When we
Underdressed at the Florida Theatre
Faye Webster Concert Review Words & photos by Ambar Ramirez Faye Webster often bought last-minute tickets to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and enjoyed getting lost in the performances. So much so that she wrote a whole album in ode to this spontaneous time of her life— “Underdressed at the
We Sang So Loud (Festival)
Who We Saw, What We Thought Words by Carmen Macri and Ambar Ramirez and Photos by Stayce Koegler We have never claimed to be music critics, but for the sake of this article, we will pretend. Before we get into who we saw and what we thought, let’s talk about
The Tales of a Florida Boy
Words by Amiyah Golden Sunshine, sand between our toes, community and art entangles us as residents of the state that holds diverse stories and faces. It’s the state that is devoted to its temperamental weather patterns but always makes sure to provide a rainbow after the storm. And it’s
Follow FOLIO!