The competition was fierce, and the joint was packed last night for the first edition of Road To Bonnaroo 2013. The bands were bugging the crap out of fans all week with Facebook invites, and it showed when Mercy Lounge capped out around 10pm with a line stretching into the Cummins Station parking lot.
The Young International started things off, and front man Kaleb Jones was certainly feeling it with his Thom Yorke-ian moves. Sol Cat busted a firm groove, and then busted their ass on stage at the end of their set. Dylan McDonald and The Avians were a newbie to me, and I was pleasantly surprised. Grass Root Kids probably had the most aggressive marketing of the event via Facebook, and it showed in the crowd packed with their fans. Schools brought their usual style for a house was fairly lubricated and ready to party. Alanna Royale fought through a cold, but left nothing behind for the grooving packed house. It’s hard to follow a focused Alanna Royale show, but local alt-rockers Linear Downfall were up to the challenge. The night ended with one of our local favorites Magnolia Sons, and the votes began to be tallied while “what the fuck is going on” band Lazer Snake took the stage. While we slumbered (well, some of us), the Mercy Lounge staff tallied the fan and judge votes.
The fan vote (50%) went like this:
1) Grass Root Kids
2) Alanna Royale
3) Schools
The judges vote (50%) spoke like this:
1) Sol Cat
2) Alanna Royale
3) Magnolia Sons
Add all that up, and the winner is Alanna Royale with a surely close second place finish by Sol Cat and Young International rounded out the top three. Congrats to Alanna and her crew, it couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch, and a huge pat on the back to all 8 bands who put on a string of great performances last night!
Go ahead and mark your calendar for the next Road To Bonnaroo on March 25th. Also, remember to check out Alanna Royale and Magnolia Sons this coming Saturday at The High Watt during our free SXSW Send Off Show.
12 responses to “Alanna Royale Wins The First 2013 Road To Bonnaroo”
How did Grass Root Kids win the popular vote but not even finish in the top 3 of judges? And how did The Young International finish in the top 3 overall but not finish in the top 3 in either category?
[…] these factors create a large sound that fills venues with uncanny excitement. They just played the Road to Bonnaroo 8 off 8 at Mercy Lounge yesterday, and they certainly put on a spectacular performance on Friday […]
[…] Artist | Alanna Royale Bonnaroo History | Newbie (Road to Bonnaroo winner) Stage & Time: […]
[…] The band (yep, Alanna Royale is a 7-piece band, but Alanna is also the singer of that band) just won this year’s first Road to Bonnaroo competition. We ranked their fall show at The Basement and Fall East Nashville Underground appearances among […]
[…] bands competed in this year’s first installment of the Road to Bonnaroo competition. Alanna Royale won and will be performing at […]
LazerSnake was best band of nite 4 shure.
1lyfe2live.
[…] tonight at Mercy Lounge, and the bands need your help selecting the winner. You helped to send Alanna Royale and Ranch Ghost to the farm this summer in the previous competitions, and one last band will be […]
[…] festival, it was decided that party rocker Ri¢hie would be joining previous round winners Alanna Royale and Ranch Ghost this summer at […]
[…] Nashville’s beloved nouveau R&B group asking us to have dinner with them. The recent Road To Bonnaroo winners sat down with us for a very entertaining discussion about their beginnings, Record Store Day, and […]
[…] announcement brings an exciting crop of new bands! In addition to previous Road to Bonnaroo winners Alanna Royale and Ranch Ghost, additional Nashville residents such as William Tyler, SIMO, Jonny Fritz, and more […]
[…] Royale the Bonnaroo Band of the Day treatment after they earned a spot on the festival by winning the first Road to Bonnaroo competition. The 7-piece, horn-laden, retro soul group with a modern edge is one of our favorite […]
[…] Bonnaroo warm up weekend begins with the first Road To Bonnaroo winner, Alanna Royale. She’s headlining the Basement along with local and blog faves Kansas Bible Company, All Them […]