The Battle of the Bands is returning to Fremont Theater in San Luis Obispo on April 4 at 7 p.m.
For the past three years, in three cities across California, bands have competed for a chance to win slots playing at Shabang Live Music & Arts Festival in May, along with a $1,000 cash prize. The audience’s vote will be the one’s deciding who wins the prize and the stage time at Shabang.
The Cuestonian asked the five bands competing in this year’s Battle of the Bands in San Luis Obispo to write a little bit about themselves, and why people should come to the concert this April and vote.
Toad
Instagram: @toadband_
Soundcloud: Toad
“Toad is an alternative rock band from San Luis Obispo. Drawing heavily from folk, progressive and psychedelic rock music, Toad produces a unique sound that captivates audiences with their creative song writing and high energy live performances. As experienced performers in the San Luis Obispo music scene, Toad is ready to take their music from backyards and bars to the big stage.”
Skipping Breakfast
Instagram: @skippingbreakfast_
Spotify: Skipping Breakfast
“What is Skipping Breakfast? Taken out of context, it is a sacrilegious activity depriving the body of its necessary nutrients, Fair enough, but many SLO folk find Skipping Breakfast far more enjoyable than its fruitless counterpart. Why? A band of friends first with a collective love of creating from one basement to another. This six-piece sextet merges steel pan, strings, drums, groves, emotion, keys, and intention with the objective of getting swept off one’s feet like the irresistible draw towards freshly baked bread (or gluten-free bread for some of us). Who is Skipping Breakfast? Originally meeting through Cuesta College connections, this tight-knit group of friends decided in 2022 they could no longer hold in the urge to jam. A few hiccups later, we are now so grateful to play for friends, family and strangers.
This year we were fortunate enough to make Shabang’s Battle of the Bands for a chance to play at Shabang 2025. Come stop by, visit us on Instagram, or check out our music on Spotify.”
Tiny Plastic Everything
Instagram: @tiny_plastic_everything
Spotify: Tiny Plastic Everything
“Howdy! We’re Tiny Plastic Everything, a rock band in the loosest sense. Our songs straddle the line between noisy, ambient textures and ethereal melodies, all tied together through heartfelt narrative-driven lyrics. We’re thrilled to be supporting our local scene, to bring the DIY energy our shows are known for, to the Battle of the Bands.”
Big Sierra
Instagram: @big.sierra
Spotify: Big Sierra
Apple Music: Big Sierra
“We’re an indie/alternative rock band based in San Luis Obispo. We take a lot of influence from bands such as Young the Giant and Tame Impala, basically guitar-heavy music with falsetto vocals. We’ve been performing up and down the coast since last summer.”
Avalynn
Instagram: @avalynn.band
Spotify: Avalynn
“Avalynn is a three-piece band from Lompoc and Santa Maria, currently based in SLO. We’ve been friends since we were young, but only started Avalynn at the end of high school. We mostly play shows in the SLO area, but have future plans to play further than just the Central Coast. So far we have 3 officially released songs, we are always writing more which you’ll probably hear at any of our shows. Drawing inspiration from bands such as Hum and Dinosaur Jr., we aim to create loud, energetic, and expressive live shows that drag the audience into the music with us.”
For information about the Battle of the Bands concert, visit the Battle of the Bands Instagram page and buy your tickets on Prekindle.
