The fourth annual Solar Battle of the Bands, a solar industry party and musical competition presented this year by founder Quick Mount PV and new presenter, S-5!, took place July 9 during the 2014 Intersolar North America trade show. Attended by an enthusiastic crowd of 1,200, the after-hours event at the Mezzanine featured bands formed entirely of employees from solar companies. Attendees of the event voted for their favorite band at the end of the night.
Photo: Todd Coleman
The evening kicked off with what is now an SBOB tradition- Christie McCarthy singing her original solar anthem “Rise And Shine.” The Quick Mount PV house band “Northerner and the Rafters” also followed with an original song, “Reasons.”
Competing in the battle were bands from five solar companies from around the US, and our first International band, from French company, Exosun. Other companies were RGS Energy, Inovateus Solar, SolarCity, and last year’s winner, Sungevity.
At the end of the evening Sungevity’s band “The Killa Watts” prevailed as the winner for the second year in a row. Their funky set included a rousing rendition of lesser-known R&B song, “Leave my Kitten Alone” by Little Willie John. Other highlights of the night included Exosun’s “Je veux du soleil” by Au P’tit Bonheur, a fun, French number to kick-off the battle. RGS Energy took the stage next featuring an awesome guitar solo during their version of “Magic Carpet Ride” by Steppenwolf. Next up was SolarCity with an energetic and beautifully sung rendition of Amy Winehouse song, “Valerie”, and Inovateus Solar came through with their promise to write and perform an original song for the battle (the first original song by any competing band) entitled, “New Paradise”, written about the solar industry.
Solar Battle of the Bands was made possible by generous support from company sponsors Inovateus Solar, Wiley, AEE Solar, Renesola, Mounting Systems Inc. and S:FLEX, with media/nonprofit sponsors SolarPro, Solar Power World, Intersolar North America, and NABCEP.
Video highlights from this year’s event will be available on the SBOB website and YouTube page next week. Photos from the event are available on the Solar Battle of the Bands Facebook page: www.facebook.com/SolarBattleoftheBands.
About Solar Battle of the Bands
Solar Battle of the Bands is a unique industry event that brings the solar community together through a friendly competition of solar company bands. Founded by Quick Mount PV, SBOB first debuted in 2011 to a packed house of 500 attendees, and has more than doubled in popularity and attendance in the past three years. SBOB is widely considered one of the can’t-miss events of the year for the solar industry.
About Quick Mount PV
Quick Mount PV manufactures 100% code-compliant, waterproof mounting products for attaching solar systems to rooftops. Founded in 2006, Quick Mount PV is the industry’s leading manufacturer of solar roof mounts. Products are made in the USA.
About S-5!
S-5! is the international authority on attachment technology for metal roofs. For over 22 years, S-5! has been producing unique attachment products that revolutionize the metal roofing industry. S-5! products are installed on over 1.4 million metal roofs worldwide, providing strength and longevity never before seen. Whether specifying a PV mounting solution or installing a snow retention system, architects and metal roof contractors endorse S-5! as the most trusted name in the industry.
About Sungevity’s “The Killa Watts”
Colleen George, Kelcey Gavar, and Chris Connolly all returned as lead vocalists. Other band members were, Andrew Adelman, drums; Jeff Cleland, bass; Joss Jaffe, guitar; Felix Fernando, congas; Krystian Muroya, trumpet; Travis Richardson, alto sax; Misha Balmer, bari sax; Stephanie Smith, flute; and, Sam Hernandez, trombone.