St. Edward’s University singer-songwriter Rebecca Butler will soon share the stage with Austin rock band Bright Light Social Hour at the university’s spring concert.

Why? Because Butler won the opening slot after being crowned the winner of St. Edward’s first Battle of the Bands on March 28.

Six bands performed for 10 minutes each and were judged by a panel of professionals and students. Before every band took the spotlight, videos of members talking or playing music were shown on a screen above the stage.

Searching For Signal was the first band to perform. Comparable to Coldplay in musical style, the band rocked the crowd with an alternative rock sound that led students to gather at the front of the room in front of the stage.

The band is made up of St. Edward’s students Matthew Salois, lead singer and guitarist, and Benny Edaburn, who plays the drums. The band also includes Michael Azari, who attends the University of Texas and plays guitar, and John Wilhelm, who plays the bass.

The band formed in January 2006 and plays shows regularly around Austin and Houston, its hometown. With a CD and a three-song EP already under its belt, the band will release a six-song EP this spring. Searching For Signal won second place and $150 to Music Makers, a locally owned music store.

“I thought they were really good. They were compared to Coldplay and it was true,” freshman Ashley Rodriguez said after the performance.

With the tough job of following up Searching For Signal, Professor Cowboy & the Space Crazies succeeded in competing against the prior band with a different sound.

The band’s sound is a mix of blues, rock and funk with songs that were accompanied by a deep soulful sound. This band also plays regularly around Austin and enjoys “playing music for the sake of playing music and rocking people’s faces into their own faces.” The band is planning on releasing an EP soon. The band didn’t place in the competition, but murmurings throughout the audience showed that the band received positive feedback from their performance.

With a very different sound from the other two bands, the duo Potatoes & Catfish played a set of bluegrass and Texas country music as the third performance. “Potatoes” is Elisabeth Kelso, a St. Edward’s student who has been playing the mandolin since she was 10. Kelso developed a taste for the mountain music of Idaho. “Catfish” is Zachary Domingue, also a St. Edward’s student. Domingue plays the guitar in the band. Both members sing and write songs.

One of the songs that Domingue sang was dedicated to the theater students in the audience and was inspired by the play that was just performed at the Mary Moody Northern Theater, “Eurydice.” The song contained lines from the play and earned the songwriter compliments, such as “clever lyrics.” Excited reactions also occurred when the students finally understood what the song was about.

Potatoes & Catfish didn’t place in the competition but gained performing experience and maybe even some new fans. This was the band’s first “real” show, and both Kelso and Domingue said that being up on stage performing felt good. Though the duo has never performed off-campus, they do play weekly at The Huddle.

When asked if they plan on playing anywhere off campus, Kelso answered, “We’re just starting out, who knows what the future holds.”

The fourth act was Chase Pruitt and Ryan Gilger, playing an acoustic set with two original songs. Pruitt, lead singer and leading man, is an English writing major at St. Edward’s. Gilger plays the guitar and attends the Art Institute of Austin. The sound of the band is a mix of indie, folk and alternative country, like that of Ryan Adams, whose songs the they claim to regularly cover.

Pruitt’s original song lyrics were heartfelt and strong. Pruitt’s melodic singing, layering of sounds and creative lyrics led to a large positive response from the audience — but the judges didn’t respond as favorably. Pruitt didn’t place in the competition, even though many were rooting for him and sure that he would at least place second.

The second-to-last band was Lost Catz, a three-piece band consisting of St. Edward’s students Jonathan Cantu on drums, Jessica Buie on guitar and vocals and Manuel Codina as lead singer. They are inspired by Joy Division and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Codina and Buie called audience members to the front of the room to dance while they played. The band played fast and loud with phrases like “purple lips” popping out. The Lost Catz performed with ease on stage and joked around between songs. The group recently played at this year’s West by West Campus Festival at the University of Texas and played some shows during this year’s South by Southwest. The band won third place and a $100 gift card to Music Makers.

Last but definitely not least, was Rebecca Butler, who won the crowd and judges over with a combination of sweet vocals and heavy music that balanced her performance perfectly. In 2009, Butler recorded an acoustic album with guitarist and fellow St. Edward’s student Sam Ogden. Playing with her were Ogden, Jack Pearl, who also played with Professor Cowboy & the Space Crazies, Pierce Saxon and Jordan Cook.

The band is in the process of recording a new album and will now have 12 hours of studio recording time at the Recording Conservatory of Austin, which was the grand prize. Butler also won the crowd favorite award, which was a $40 gift card to Music Lab, another recording studio.

Alex Simons, the coordinator behind Battle of Bands, was pleased by how the event went, but added that attendance could have been better. However, she brushed the low attendance off, saying that a smaller audience and technical difficulties are to be expected for the first time.

Simons said that UPB plans to host a similar event next year.

Simons hopes that students will see how great their fellow students bands are.

“I can’t tell you how impressed I am with all the bands,” Simons said. “I’m kind of in awe.”