The annual Corporate Battle of the Bands in Austin raised over $275,000 this year, surpassing last year's total of $260,000. The funds will provide nearly $2 million in healthcare services for more than 3,100 musicians served by HAAM annually. Event sponsors included Cirrus Logic as the presenting sponsor and stage sponsors H-E-B, PNC Bank, and SXSW.
The event drew a record crowd of over 1,000 attendees who were entertained by nine bands from local businesses. This year's "Band of the Year" was awarded to The Uncommon (Husch Blackwell). Other winners included ABC Anteaters (ABC Home and Commercial Services) for "Best Song," The Mag Stripes (Ouro) for "Best Stage Presence," and The Haptics (Cirrus Logic) received both the "Fan Favorite" and "Fan Club" awards.
Notable performances came from PNC Bank’s C Notes, Ascension Seton’s The Defibrillators, Maxwell Locke & Ritter’s Bad Assets, and Epicor’s Cloud 9. CBS Austin's Trevor Scott and KVUE-TV's Quita Culpepper emceed the event for the second consecutive year.
Judges included Kendall Antonelli of Antonelli’s Cheese; Aaron “Fresh” Knight and Confucius Jones from 'The Breaks'; and Pixie Weyand from SXSW. DJ Shani provided music during the VIP Hour before the show started. La Murga de Austin performed while judges deliberated after all bands had played.
Sponsors also included FVF Law for Appreciation Awards given to all nine bands, ACL Live for Best Song Award and VIP Hour sponsorship alongside Schlotzsky’s, Pearl Society Committee for Best Band award sponsorship, and Austin Subaru as Suite Sponsor.
Photos from the event were taken by Jake Rabin, David Brendan Hall, and Michael Wright. A complete photo album is available online.