Sugarking band wins big at Battle of the Bands

2023 Liberation Day Committee members and Battle of the Band judges pose with this year’s competition winner, the Sugarking band, after Saturday’s event at Garapan Fishing Base in Kristo Rai. (CHRYSTAL MARINO)

The five-man Sugarking Band took home the top three prizes at the Battle of the Bands competition during the 2023 Liberation festivities last Saturday, after winning the hearts and ears of the judges and the audience through the performance of their original song aptly titled Resiliency Rising.

The Sugarking Band, composed of Donovan Castro, Edward Diaz Jr., Herbert J. Sablan, Eric B. Atalig and Albert Leon Guerrero, won both the Battle of the Bands grand prize and Champion title as well as the first ever Battle of the Band’s People’s Choice Award over the weekend at the Garapan Fishing Base in Kristo Rai.

The event, which drew hundreds of eager supporters and music lovers alike, saw four bands perform their original songs based on the “Resiliency Rising” theme.

The band expressed gratitude for the win and said that they hope to inspire others to start getting into music. “I’m very thankful for this competition. Thank you to the mayor’s office and the committee. I really hope that this competition can inspire…other kids [and] everybody else to come out of the woodwork and…start the music…” said Diaz “I think we have a lot of talent here. I really feel like music is so neglected and the reason we are together here is because we love our hobby, we have a passion for the music.”

Along with the People’s Choice Award, which gave them $100 in prize money, the band also earned the 2023 Battle of the Bands’ Champion title, $750 cash, $100 worth of gift certificates, as well as Resiliency Rising jerseys.

The competition judges were musicians JJ Conception, entertainer Big Mama, and sponsor Perry Inos.

Other bands performing alongside Sugarking were the Legends, Da Kine, and Joshua “Zengzung” Castro. Each band was judged based on lyrics, song melody, stage presence, crowd response, and how well the ‘Resiliency Rising theme was incorporated to the song.

In an post-event interview with Castro, who is the Sugarking lead vocalist and ukulele player for the night, and Diaz, who is the background vocalist and lead guitarist, both said they hope to release more original music in the coming days.

“We look forward to doing more great stuff for the CNMI very, very soon. Stay tuned, CNMI We got some great things ahead of us and we want to take this to a whole different level and hopefully be the band to kind of showcase what this island is all about,” said Castro.

The event was also the first to incorporate the People’s Choice award, where members of the community could be involved by buying a certain amount of merchandise, which would be accompanied by a ballot.

“Thank you to our bands for coming out, showing up, and really displaying their originality. I think that’s what it’s about for tonight. Specifically for tonight, it’s all about our local artists, our local entertainers and we are so excited to put them on a stage…” said Liberation Day Committee chair Nadine Deleon Guerrero. “In 2024 we look to have another Battle of the Bands and it’ll be that year’s theme they’ll be singing about.”

Throughout the night, many in the crowd could be seen enjoying and swaying to the music, shouting support for their favorite bands, some even deeming the winning band members “sugardaddies”; and for several young people, this was the first time they witnessed a community event like this.

Caitlin Ignacio from Chalan Kanoa said, “…it’s my first time seeing the Battle of the Bands, and it’s pretty good so far.” When asked if she’d like to see more events like these in the future, she replied, “Most definitely! I love to hear the music and the people.”

According to officials, the Sugarking band will be on stage once again this Saturday, July 22, 2023, and will be among other performances by the Marpac-sponsored band “Bigger and Better” from Guam, as well as many dance performances and a drag queen show by the group formerly known as Paper Dolls. Deleon Guerrero also shared that she is still working on it, but she hopes to secure funding to have a firework show on the finale night of the festivities.