Kitty Obsidian took home first place at the Sounds of the Underground finale on Wednesday, March 1, setting themselves up to open at Western Washington University’s annual Lawnstock festival.
The band, who has been playing together for about a year, qualified for the finale by winning the third round of the Sounds of the Underground series on Feb. 15.
This pitted the group against round-one winner Jade House and round-two winner Pure Halcyon in a battle of the bands style competition.
A fan vote from those in attendance determined the winner.
“We are so pumped and already looking forward to Lawnstock,” said Kitty Obsidian bass player Eric Anderson. “It's going to be a huge opportunity for us to spread our groovy tunes to a larger audience, and we’re so grateful for everyone who voted.”
Prizes were available for all three finalists. Along with opening at Lawnstock, Kitty Obsidian's first-place prize includes a trip to Champion St Sound Studios, where they’ll have the chance to record their music at a professional level.
Pure Halcyon finished second, earning them an opening slot at the Wild Buffalo, a music and dance club in downtown Bellingham.
In third place was Jade House, earning the group a gift card to Guitar Center.
“The paid day in studio could be a great chance for the winning band to get some of their best songs professionally recorded and released to streaming sites,” said Brody Hunt, the Underground Coffeehouse Coordinator who was responsible for setting up the event. “That's a huge advantage for any local band to reach more people outside of Bellingham and to potentially get booked in those areas.”
Kitty Obsidian hopes to be able to share its R&B and neo-soul music with a broader audience.
“We’re really looking forward to finally record some ass-shaking tunes for everyone at home to groove to,” Anderson said.
Miles Tennant (he/him) is a campus news reporter for The Front this quarter. He is a second-year planning to major in the news/editorial path of the journalism department. When not reporting, he enjoys playing soccer and spending time in the gym.
You can contact him @milestennant.thefront@gmail.com
