Battle of the Baltic bands

  • 2004-04-22
  • By Jayde Will
VILNIUS - A rush of pre-Eurovision excitement is blowing through the Baltics and stirring up the musical animosity between Latvia and Lithuania with the first ever screening of a televised equivalent of the "Battle of the Bands."

The "National Music League" will be aired live on LNK in Lithuania, with LNT carrying the show in Latvia. The first round was screened on April 21, with the second round to take place on April 28 and the final showdown on May 5.
The contest will be broadcast live from the LNK studio in Vilnius and will showcase the talents of Lithuanian groups Skamp and B'Avarija and Latvian groups A-Europa and The Hobos.
The boy band B'Avarija, which was formed in 1996, quickly shot to Lithuanian stardom in 1997 when it won the award for best debut album. Since then, it's continued with its success and has been awarded with the title of best group for two years running. B'Avarija is matched against The Hobos, the popular Latvian band formed in 1999, which is one of the leading lights in Latvian pop music with its polished brand of catchy, sing-along tunes.
Likewise, Skamp is one of the most popular Lithuanian bands around. The group is fronted by Irish singer Erica Jennings and gave Lithuania its highest ever-finishing position in Eurovision (in 2001 they came 13th). Skamp is up against the dance act A-Europa, which is currently considered one of the most successful dance groups in Latvia after grabbing best dance video of 2003 at the LNT Music Awards. Its records have been released in Latvia and Russia, where its music has been well received by the critics.
The groups will be given three minutes to perform each of four songs. Viewers will then be able to call in, or even send text messages, to vote for their favorite performers. The total sum of votes for each song will determine who wins each "battle." Every song that wins is worth one point, and at the end of the night the group with the most points will advance to the final.
So the real question is - who's got the goods to win? It's hard to say but The Hobos might just sneak in and surprise the Lithuanians on their own turf. They've climbed up the Lithuanian charts recently (33rd at last glance), while Lithuanian groups just don't have the same foothold in the Latvian charts.
But since the event will be held in Vilnius, there just might be an upsurge of Lithuanian sympathizers to carry the day. Even though this musical event can't ever hope to be as popular as, say, Lithuanian basketball, the "National Music League" show is one of the most popular TV shows in Lithuania and might attract enough viewers to give the Latvian groups a run for their money.
The next round will be held on April 28 at 8:30 p.m. and the final on May 5 at the same time, so be sure to tune in, cast your vote and have a good laugh.