The 4th annual Battle of the Bands, sponsored by the Fiddle Club of the World, will unfold in Szold Hall at the Old Town School of Folk Music (4545 N. Lincoln) in Chicago on Saturday, July 11, 7-9pm. Part of the Square Roots Festival.

3 bands, 2 hours of dancing, intermittent dance lessons, big fun

The winning band is the one that best fills the floor with dancers. Vote with your feet.

Nota Bene: Once again, all competing bands feature fiddlers.

 Jim Stoynoff’s Greek Band
 Izaki Metropoulos on violin
 Greek music
 An Iron Heart artist

Juan Rivera
con Los Condenados Huastecos
Mexican/Son Huasteca
An Iron Heart artist

 Genevieve Koester
 with White Mule
 Old-Time Square Dance tunes
 White Mule

Held July 13, 2014 at the Square Roots Festival

For the 3rd year in a row, the Battle of the Bands ended in a draw. The objective was to fill the floor with dancers. Here is the report of the judges, as texted to the emcee.

“The Fantastic Toe Trippers Orchestra actually got the most dancers on the floor, as determined by counting feet and dividing by two. However, they were assessed penalties for having both a banjo and an accordion in the band. The Renato Anesi Trio did not attract as many feet. However, as Brazilian dancing requires moving more body parts, they were given bonus points. The Byzantine Time Machine was also given a bonus for the largest inchoate mass of moving humanity. An additional technology bonus brings them into a virtual tie with the other two bands.”

The following pictures illustrate the tie-clinching bonus.

Here are some recordings from the hotly contested battle of 2014.

Greek Syrtos by the Byzantine Time Machine

Brazilian Choro by the Renato Anesi Trio

Who could have imagined. Thanks to all particpated.

Paul Tyler – convenver

The 3rd Battle of the Bands, sponsored by the Fiddle Club of the World, will unfold in Szold Hall at the Old Town School of Folk Music (4545 N. Lincoln) in Chicago on Sunday, July 13.

3 bands, 2 hours of dancing, intermittent dance lessons, big fun

The winning band is the one that best fills the floor with dancers. Vote with your feet.

Renato Anesi Trio
Brazilan Choro

This was Renato visiting an Old Town School class.
Check out some of the many concert videos on his YouTube channel.

Byzantine Time Machine
Scientronic* Greek and Balkan syrtos and kolos.
Check out some samples on their sound cloud.

* Santur, sax, horns and drums processed through a flux capacitor.

Fantastic Toe Trippers Orchestra
Polkas, waltzes and barn dances from 3 continents

at the Square Roots Festival
Festival info here.
Presented by the Chicago Chapter of the Fiddle Club of the World

Sunday, July 13, 7-9pm, Szold Hall
Old Town School of Folk Music East (4545 Lincoln)

Three bands (by invitation only).
The band that gets the most folks dancing wins!
Dancers wanted and encouraged for three different styles of music.
Quick dance lessons will be given intermittently throughout the event.

Byzantine Time Machine
Scientronic Greek & Balkan dance music.

Renato Anesi Trio
Choro music from Brazil.

Fantastic Toe Trippers Orchestra
Polkas, Waltzes & Barn Dance from 3 continents.

Put on your dancing shoes!

Paul Tyler, convener
Fiddle Club of the World

at the Square Roots Festival
Presented by the Chicago Chapter of the Fiddle Club of the World

Saturday, July 13, 6:30-8pm, Szold Hall
Old Town School of Folk Music East (4545 Lincoln)

Dance and cheer as bands compete to be named Best Fiddle Band in Chicago!
The band that get’s the most dancers on the floor wins the top prize.

Money Creek
One of the best old-time square dance bands in the Midwest.

Fruteland Jackson
Chicago bluesman fronts an old-time jook band.

Chicago Spelmanslag
Chicagoland’s own Scandinavian musicians club.

Put on your dancing shoes!

Paul Tyler, convener
Fiddle Club of the World

Presented by the Fiddle Club of the World (Chicago Chapter)
at the Square Roots Festival
Saturday, July 21, 7-8pm
Szold Hall in Old Town School East (4545 Lincoln)

Three bands have been invited.

They’ll take turns, bringing us a fine mix of dance music: old-time, Cajun and Mexican son.

The band the gets the most people on the dance floor wins the top prize of $400.

Come dance and root for your favorite. Here they are in alphabetical order . . .

Brown’s Dream
Matt Brown – fiddle
Steve Rosen – banjo
Greg Reish – guitar
Jesse McQuarters – bass

Cajun Vagabonds
Dorian Gehring – fiddle
Heather Cole Mullin – fiddle
Charlie Terr – accordion
Stewart Gehring – guitar

Tarima Son
Irekani Ferreya – fiddle, guitar
Anabel Tapia – jarana, viheual
Rose Gaitan – small percussion
Orlando Tenumbre – bass