It started in 2002, when a Douglas County youth librarian was chatting with teens about their garage bands.
The kids wanted to play at the library, and the librarian was looking for ways to make the institution more youth-friendly.
What resulted was the library district’s “Battle of the Bands,” a spirited annual event in which a half-dozen bands – largely made up of teens – crank their amplifiers in an outdoor concert and try to win the crowd’s approval.
Entries, which include demo CDs or tapes, were due Sunday.
The event will run from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. June 17 at the Lone Tree Recreation Center, 10249 Ridgegate Circle. The winner gets a recording session with Spike’d Audio, a local studio.
Library officials say the event taps the passion and interest of teens and gives them an outlet.
“We’re aiming to be the cultural crossroads for Douglas County,” said Aspen Walker, a community-relations specialist for the library.
Last year’s winner, Loose Change, is a family band from Parker. Brothers Tyler and Devin Bills, who are students at Ponderosa High School, play guitars. Their father plays the drums. Sometimes mom sings backup.
The boys got guitars for Christmas two years ago, said Mark Bills, their father. The three of them were playing cover tunes in the basement when they heard about “Battle of the Bands.”
They saw a flier and decided, on a whim, to enter. They had never played before an audience.
“We watch the video now and we laugh,” said Mark Bills. “The boys look so young and they’re so shy.”
To their great surprise, they won. Since then, they’ve been regulars at church fundraisers and community festivals.
Mark Bills calls their music classic rock, with a twist of country and a splash of modern rock. Their repertoire includes songs by the Eagles and Green Day.
Michael Morrissey, an event sponsor, said many bands that have played in the event’s four-year history are “your typical rock band” and have a couple guitars and a drummer.
But the event has also featured punk, folk, ska, jazz and acoustic bands. Last year, 650 people came out to the Castle Rock community bandstand at the Phillip S. Miller Library to vote for their favorite band.
A panel that includes local teens chooses who will play at the event.
“We sit down one afternoon with snacks and we listen,” she said. “We try to get a good mix.”
Walker said those who run the library have been pleased with the response to the event.
“It’s popular,” Walker said. “There are a lot of teen bands out there.”
