By: Marcelle Naidoo

After weeks of rehearsing, six gifted bands got together to perform and battle for the top spot at what can only be described as a musical explosion.

Battle of the Bands is a concert which is held annually to promote the God-given talent of local gospel musicians. The event, which took place on Friday at the City of Victory church in Silverglen, hosted over 500 guests.

The bands which participated at this year’s event were Siloam Ministries-Umhlanga, Audio City-Phoenix, One Night Only-Chatsworth, Emmanuel Tabernacle-Chatsworth, “3 in 1”-Mariannridge and CCF- Chatsworth. Each band was given a chance to play before the judges decided on a worthy winner. This year, Emmanuel Tabernacle from Chatsworth swiped the top spot.

Ashlyn Govender, the main organiser of the event said that this night is set aside to recognise and appreciate the immense sacrifice put in by these young muso’s. “The amazing thing is that people of all ages, young and old attend and wait until the end which is remarkable,” said Govender.

Vashik Maharaj, who attended the event for the second time this year, said, “The concert was awesome, each band really rocked it, the only problem was that there was limited space and some people had to enjoy the show from outside.”  He described the atmosphere as warm and friendly and he added that he enjoyed meeting new people and socialising with others who shared the same passion for gospel music as he did.

Over 500 people of all ages gathered to watch these six talented bands perform. Picture by: Marcelle Naidoo

Undoubtedly, events like these create a platform for skilled musicians to motivate the next generation of musicians while providing entertainment for those who are lucky enough to attend. It is an excellent way of keeping the youth off the street and rather in God’s house.

Next year’s addition is set to be bigger and even better with hopes of including more aspiring young musicians.