University Place's Battle In The Orchard Is The Brainchild Of Curtis Grad

Kayla Stewart always knew University Place had teen talent when it came to music, particularly rock.

That talent just never had a place, at least locally, to showcase it.

That's why University Place's first live music competition for teens is so special. The aptly named "Battle In The Orchard" is scheduled for June 30 at the , a spot known more for folk and country music during its summer concert series.

For Stewart, a 20-year-old who graduated from Curtis in 2009, she has seen plenty of other competitions between bands, but they were geared more toward an older crowd or children.

"I saw that there was a void there," said Stewart, who's studying arts and media at the University of Washington-Tacoma.

According to the event's website, the goal of the competition is, "to promote a love of music within the community, especially teenagers. To cultivate the younger bands necessary for a thriving local music scene. To provide a creative and safe outlet for teenagers to express themselves. To encourage the youth of University Place to become more involved with community activities such as the Free Orchard Summer Concert Series."

The talent round is scheduled for June 17-18 at . The competition is open to teens, ages 13-20,who play in a band of two or more members, or to soloists who both play and sing.

The winners of the competition's two categories are vying an array of prizes, including a 20-minute set at the U.P. Festival in August, a five-song demo and a  30-minute photo shoot.

Oh, and not only will the winners get lots of exposure on Patch, but they will get the right - nay, the privilege - to create the official theme songs for our site.

Patch will have more on this story in the coming weeks. For more information, visit the Battle In The Orchard's website or visit the event's Facebook page.

If interested in competing, contact Stewart at kayla@battleintheorchard.com.