Tempe Music Fest would like to shout out one more big "Thank you!" and "Congratulations!" to the two bands who made it all the way through our SRP Garage Band Competition.

Austin Gibbs and The States won the College Band category and got to rock it on Main Stage right before the Meat Puppets played.  Make sure to catch their next local show because you’re going to absolutely love their indie folk rock - it will inspire to sing, dance and sway along to their bluesy melodies.  (There’s already talk that they might just fill the empty hole The Format left in our hearts when they disbanded ... believe me, you do not want to miss Austin Gibbs and The States because it’s going to be hard to keep something this great a secret for very long!)




The Vigilantes won the High School Band category and actually got to open for Fergie!  (If that’s not a mash-up, I don’t know what is!)  The Vigilantes have been part of the Garage Band and Tempe Music Festival family for several years now and we were very happy to see them move forward to play Main Stage.  Their high-energy, post-punk rock had the audience jumping around and clapping along to their catchy beats.  These guys are off to a great early start and are already showing traits of polished musicians.  Keep an eye out for them because they’re going to take this city by storm in no time!




Thank you to all of the other bands who were involved in the SRP Garage Band Competition.  You guys all worked really hard and it was great to have you involved!  See you next year!

-Erika