Photo Credit
Jungmin Ham, RMO Photo
Bow Valley bands face-off in first Canmore high school Battle of the Bands
With non-stop guitar shreds and no shortage of headbangin’, power metal band Per Velum know how to play their hearts out.
Getting the crowd out of their seats and nodding along, the group of metalheads led by 13-year-old Theo Hepler held nothing back, taking first place in the Canmore Collegiate High School (CCHS) Battle of the Bands on Friday (Feb. 6).
“They just took it to a whole other level,” said Ellen Braun, Canmore singer-songwriter and Battle of the Bands judge. “It just felt like everyone in the audience was part of their experience.”
A fundraiser for the CCHS music department, six bands from the Bow Valley rocked the theatre stage, marking the school’s first ever Battle of the Bands.
“More than the competition, it’s about celebrating music in the Bow Valley and seeing how alive and well it is,” said Susan Gerrior, CCHS music teacher and organizer of the fundraiser.
“I think we just scratched the surface in terms of what we have here. There are so many amazing bands.”
With musicians ranging from 13 to 80 years old and across genres of rock, metal, punk and folk, each crew had their moment to put on a show for a panel of four judges after the night opened with a performance from the CCHS jazz band.
Keeping the spirit of power metal alive, Calgary-based band Per Velum – with Alex Slade on bass, Enoc Escobar on drums, Banff’s Fergus Langer-McIntosh on guitar and Hepler as lead guitar and vocals – stepped into the spotlight as the final act of the night, showing both their musical skill and electric stage presence.
“We were like all tired after it because we just put so much energy into that 10 minutes,” said Hepler, who formed the band over a year ago and with the help of his mom recruited band members who share his passion for music.
“I would say if you were not even a fan of … power metal I think everyone enjoyed it. It was such an amazing performance,” added Braun.
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In home territory at their own high school, Canmore band The Ducks, made up of Timmy Mann (vocals, lead guitar), Charlie Kestle (drums, piano) and Oliver Robins (bass), rocked their way to second place.
“The Ducks, being the youngest full band and being really homegrown Canmore in their high school auditorium, they also really got people going,” said Braun, noting that bands were judged on technical playing, audience engagement, stage presence and how the group “gelled” together on stage.
“It was not an easy decision to pick a winner here,” she added. “It’s always hard for music to be a competition because truly every band that got up there was so awesome and had some great covers [and] great original music.”
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Bow Valley bands including the Mountain Mardi Gras Hot Jazz Band, Jonny Rocketman’s Atomic Tango, The Tony Melo Band and The Brews also competed in the fundraiser.
With the goal of keeping band trips and programs at CCHS affordable for students, all ticket proceeds from the Battle of the Bands will go towards the school’s music department, says Gerrior.
“None of the students that come here pay a fee to join in the music program and so we use all of that money to make sure that students who can’t afford to go on (band) trips, we cover the vast majority of that for them,” she said, noting funding also helps maintain instruments that students use for free.
After a great turnout to the new event, Gerrior says the hope is to bring the Battle of the Bands back next year as both a fundraiser and an opportunity to bring more of the Bow Valley music scene to the forefront.
With their win, Per Velum received a spot to play at AMPfest, artsPlace’ heavy-music festival, in the summer while The Ducks have earned a gig at Canmore Brewing’s Community Fridays. Posted: Oct 7, 2026 Originally Published: Feb 15, 2026
Getting the crowd out of their seats and nodding along, the group of metalheads led by 13-year-old Theo Hepler held nothing back, taking first place in the Canmore Collegiate High School (CCHS) Battle of the Bands on Friday (Feb. 6).
“They just took it to a whole other level,” said Ellen Braun, Canmore singer-songwriter and Battle of the Bands judge. “It just felt like everyone in the audience was part of their experience.”
A fundraiser for the CCHS music department, six bands from the Bow Valley rocked the theatre stage, marking the school’s first ever Battle of the Bands.
“More than the competition, it’s about celebrating music in the Bow Valley and seeing how alive and well it is,” said Susan Gerrior, CCHS music teacher and organizer of the fundraiser.
“I think we just scratched the surface in terms of what we have here. There are so many amazing bands.”
With musicians ranging from 13 to 80 years old and across genres of rock, metal, punk and folk, each crew had their moment to put on a show for a panel of four judges after the night opened with a performance from the CCHS jazz band.
Keeping the spirit of power metal alive, Calgary-based band Per Velum – with Alex Slade on bass, Enoc Escobar on drums, Banff’s Fergus Langer-McIntosh on guitar and Hepler as lead guitar and vocals – stepped into the spotlight as the final act of the night, showing both their musical skill and electric stage presence.
“We were like all tired after it because we just put so much energy into that 10 minutes,” said Hepler, who formed the band over a year ago and with the help of his mom recruited band members who share his passion for music.
“I would say if you were not even a fan of … power metal I think everyone enjoyed it. It was such an amazing performance,” added Braun.
web link
In home territory at their own high school, Canmore band The Ducks, made up of Timmy Mann (vocals, lead guitar), Charlie Kestle (drums, piano) and Oliver Robins (bass), rocked their way to second place.
“The Ducks, being the youngest full band and being really homegrown Canmore in their high school auditorium, they also really got people going,” said Braun, noting that bands were judged on technical playing, audience engagement, stage presence and how the group “gelled” together on stage.
“It was not an easy decision to pick a winner here,” she added. “It’s always hard for music to be a competition because truly every band that got up there was so awesome and had some great covers [and] great original music.”
web link
Bow Valley bands including the Mountain Mardi Gras Hot Jazz Band, Jonny Rocketman’s Atomic Tango, The Tony Melo Band and The Brews also competed in the fundraiser.
With the goal of keeping band trips and programs at CCHS affordable for students, all ticket proceeds from the Battle of the Bands will go towards the school’s music department, says Gerrior.
“None of the students that come here pay a fee to join in the music program and so we use all of that money to make sure that students who can’t afford to go on (band) trips, we cover the vast majority of that for them,” she said, noting funding also helps maintain instruments that students use for free.
After a great turnout to the new event, Gerrior says the hope is to bring the Battle of the Bands back next year as both a fundraiser and an opportunity to bring more of the Bow Valley music scene to the forefront.
With their win, Per Velum received a spot to play at AMPfest, artsPlace’ heavy-music festival, in the summer while The Ducks have earned a gig at Canmore Brewing’s Community Fridays. Posted: Oct 7, 2026 Originally Published: Feb 15, 2026
In this Article Artist(s)
Tony Melo Resource(s)
Canmore Brewing Company,
artsPlace,
Canmore Collegiate High School Theatre Artist(s)
The Ducks,
The Brews, CCHS Jazz Band, Mountain Mardi Gras Band,
PER VELUM,
Jonny Rocketman’s Atomic Tango
