Future Routes Festival featuring Battle of the Bands returns on Friday

WHITEHORSE: BYTE – Empowering Youth, Yukon College, and Yukon College Student Union are teaming up to host a packed night of live music at the third annual Future Routes Music Festival on Friday, September 18, 2015 at the Yukon College Gym.

This year’s festival is the venue for BYTE’s annual Battle of the Bands and a set by HUMANS, an indie-electronic duo from Vancouver whose innovative sound, experimental beats and danceable tunes have made them staples on dance floors around the country.

This year’s Battle of the Bands lineup includes The Morgan Girls, Dirtbags, WaRRmAuth, Eat Your Friends, and MC TurMoil & Riddz. With genres ranging from folk and blues to metal, dubstep, and hip-hop, this year’s Battle of the Bands has you covered if you want to discover some of the best music from leading young Yukon artists. Find out more about each band on the Band Profile page below.

This year’s bands are competing for a set of prizes that will help kick start their musical careers, including a recording session with Green Needle Records and a professional photo shoot.

“Battle of the Bands is an excellent platform for young musicians to showcase their talents,” said BYTE’s Communications Coordinator Kara Johancsik. “BYTE has hosted Battle of the Bands for many years and we’re excited to partner with Yukon College and the Student Union under the Future Routes banner for this year’s event. Together, with the addition of headliners HUMANS, we will present an amazing evening of live music for youth, students, and the whole community.”

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the music will kick off at 7:15 p.m.. Local vendors selling arts, crafts, and jewelry will welcome people to the event, and there will be food trucks for those who haven’t had dinner yet. Frostbite Music Festival is running a beer garden for 19+.

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at the door. The event is free for Yukon College students.

Band Profiles:
(All profiles provided by the bands)

Eat Your Friends is an electronic music producer based out of Whitehorse who creates an aggressive blend of dubstep, trap, and moombahton while dabbling in other genres of music. Eat Your Friends is a growing contributor to the Yukon’s electronic scene.

WaRRmAuth is one of the only heavy metal acts in Whitehorse. Drawing influences from Slipknot, Marilyn Manson, Metallica, Avenged Sevenfold, and Slayer, WaRRmAuth has a brutal sound and charismatic stage presence. An over-the-top live show full of blistering solos, intense breakdowns, and extraordinary audience participation means that this up-and-coming metal band is a must-see for metalheads looking for the next big thing. The characters onstage are Manus “CuddleBunny” Hopkins on lead vocals and guitar, Ragn “Cousin It” Royle on bass guitar, Brandon “Crae” Butler on drums, Milan “Nailz” Lapres on lead guitar, and Isaac “Volt” Pumphrey on electric percussion and turntables.

Born and raised around the majestic Mt Lorne and playing music from a really early age, all three members of Dirtbags were involved in school music at Golden Horn. Playing the darkest blues in the land of the midnight sun, with Sam (18 years of age on slide guitar), Nic (18 years of age on the bull slap bass), and Tim (17 years old; bangs on anything he can find), they’re proud to bring blues to the Battle. The Dirtbags will rock your long johns off!

MC TurMoil & Riddz: A voice that carries, MC TurMoiL is a 24-year-old hip-hop artist from Whitehorse. One of the few hip-hop acts in his isolated hometown, TurMoiL has risen and made his name heard by industry professionals through out North America. Not afraid to tell you how it is, TurMoiL’s music gives a voice to truth. MC TurMoil has opened for Karl Wolf, Rick J, Sweat Shop Union, Snak The Ripper, Merkules, Grand Analog and more. With his debut album "Black and Green” (produced by Ace Ha) released worldwide, MC TurMoiL is a name to watch out for. Alongside like-minded artist Riddz, MC TurMoil regularly puts on and a high-energy show that engages the crowd and has them always asking for more.

The Morgan Girls—Selina Heyligers-Hare and Madi Dixon—are well known in the Yukon’s music scene. The two girls first collaborated as duo artists in October of 2013 for the sold-out “Because I Am A Girl” concert fundraiser. Since then, they have continued to perform together as The Morgan Girls at gatherings such Atlin Arts and Music Festival, Adaka Cultural Festival, Simapalooza, and many other events and fundraisers. Their musical repertoire ranges from bluesy classic rock songs of the 60s and 70s to current hit pop songs by today’s well-known artists.