Kilkenny's Oracle Villa Win Battle of the Bands 2024

Local band Oracle Villa were crowned the 2024 Battle of the Bands winners on Sunday after an intense competition between what judges described as ‘incredibly talented local musicians’.

Four bands took to the stage in the venue upstairs at Hacketts Bar in front of a full house of supporters and a panel of four local judges – Peter Flynn, Mickey ‘Boo’ Keogh, Ben Keating and Andrew McGuinness.

The finalists were The Donnys, Oracle Villa, Infrared and Harveys. According to the judges, all four bands showed fantastic ability and made it exceptionally difficult for judges to agree on the winning bands. A points scheme was used for judging where bands were graded on musical ability, originality, stage presence, overall performance, professionalism and crowd reaction. The audience themselves also had a vote.

In second place was Infrared, who, according to judges, made such a huge improvement between the heats and the finals that they turned the whole contest on its head.

“It was a fantastic final and it was super competitive which made for an intense contest and a very difficult decision at the end,” said organiser Andrew McGuinness.

“All of the bands were fantastic and its safe to say that the future of local music is certainly in safe hands. You could take any of the four finalists and put them on a stage in any venue and they will impress. Oracle Villa have really dialled in their sound and they have the original songs to back it up.

"Infrared came into the heats with a couple of originals and a lot of covers but then blew us all away with a full set of original material for the final,” he said.

“The Donnys are a powerhouse high energy rock band and Harveys showed super potential. They are all bands that have a bright future but unfortunately we can only have one winner and that is Oracle Villa with Infrared as runners up.

“I want to say a huge thank you to all of our sponsors as it would not have been possible without their support. Crossroads Recording Studios have provided a recording package for the winning band but also rehearsal time for each of the four finalists. AOBrienPhotography covered all of the events with fantastic photographs and video but also a professional photoshoot for each of the four finalists. Broderick’s Sound and Lighting provided all of the sound equipment for the events and really went above and beyond for us and Essaness Music provided the drum kit and a voucher for runners up. I’m very grateful for all the support as it wouldn’t be possible without it.

“Likewise with the judges, Jed Parle on sound and of course Tommy Hackett for allowing us to use his venue. It was a real coming together of like minded people who simply want to create a scene for Kilkenny’s young musicians. I’m determined now to continue the momentum with more gigs for young people and an even bigger and better Battle of the Bands for 2025,” concluded Andrew McGuinness.