Attendees of all ages gathered at Reid Park’s DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center on April 6 for the City of Tucson’s third annual high school Battle of the Bands competition.
Sitting on blankets or under tents and eating snow cones or tacos from nearby food trucks, about 200 attendees gathered on the warm Sunday afternoon to hear eight local bands compete.
Andrew Coss, Andrew Kandell, Nolan Nguyen and Joseph Cruze, from left, after their performance at Battle of the Bands at Gene C. Reid Park, DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center in Tucson, Ariz. on April 6, 2025.
Faces In Motion from Tucson High School took the top spot at the competition.
Representatives from the Battle of the Bands’ sponsors, along with former winners Lunar Excursion Module, judged the competition and selected the art rock band comprised of Andrew Coss, Andrew Kandell, Nolan Nguyen, and Joseph Cruze.
Their performance included original songs featuring uptempo electric guitars and raw vocals backed by a bass guitar and hard-hitting drums.
Nguyen described their sound as “eclectic and chaotic.”
“Noise rock too,” Coss added. “A little experimental, a little weird.”
He said the band’s win was a surprise.
“I speak for all of us– we were not expecting this. I thought we were going to be last place,” he said.
Attendees watching The Calmets perform at Battle of the Bands at Gene C. Reid Park, DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center in Tucson, Ariz. on April 6, 2025.
“I’m blown away,” Cruze said.
Faces in Motion has performed at venues including Groundworks and The Rock, but their performance at Battle of the Bands was their biggest one yet, they said.
“I liked being able to move around on a big stage,” Cruz said.
“It’s definitely a little different,” Nguyen added of the daytime, open-air show.
“We’re used to dark indoor lights, everyone’s standing. And here everyone’s sitting on their blankets,” he said. “I still think we were able to bring a lot of energy and I think the crowd really enjoyed it.”
Pueblo High School student Quetzaly Ledezma was at the Battle of the Bands to support her school’s band, Desert Dusk. She was excited to see them on the big stage, she said, but also enjoyed other groups.
“It was great. I really liked the variety of music,” she said.
Attendees dancing as The Calmets perform at Battle of the Bands at Gene C. Reid Park, DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center in Tucson, Ariz. on April 6, 2025.
Faces in Motion will have another chance to perform on the big stage – their win guarantees them a show promoted by Best Life Presents, a Cloud Microphone, an Ableton digital audio workstation and a performance at Groundworks on May 2.
The Silver Scarecrows from Empire High School won the People’s Choice Award and with it a Cloudlifter from Cloud Microphones and an appearance on KXCI’s “Locals Only” radio show.
Arizona Sonoran News is a news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.
