Bands Battle It Out At Citrus Fest

You could soon hear Camille Dupree & the Broken Fetters on the radio. The folk rock band from Riverview was the big winner in the Citrus Festival's Battle of the Bands contest.

Camille Dupree & the Broken Fetters won a very cool prize, a professionally mastered single recorded in a multi-million dollar studio. The estimated value of the prize is $3,750. The band also got to open for the Citrus Festival's headliner, Lindsay Taylor Saturday night.

Five bands took to various stages during the Citrus Festival Battle of the Bands. The contestants included-

• Camille Dupree & the Broken Fetters
• OrangeJuice Music
• Britt Daley
• Harvey Myers
• The Sidekicks 

Local band, The Defendants warmed up for the Battle of the Bands. Mother nature threw a wrench in the competition when dark storm clouds brought rain to the main stage, forcing organizers to hold impromptu performances inside .

West Palm Beach kids Melanie Medina, age 16; Ryan Medina, age 12; and Logan Rein, age 15 drove over with their parents to perform in their first competition outside their hometown. Their band is called The Sidekicks and they've been playing together for six months. Once the main stage dried out, the kids took the stage to play a fun mix of alternative rock that included the classic Nirvana hit, "Smells Like Teen Spirit". 

You could tell the kids were having a blast on stage, despite the fact that there was no mosh pit and the front row fans consisted of their parents. The moms and dads sat in metal folding chairs and eagerly cheered the kids on during their performance.

"Clap louder mom," said Ryan Medina from the mic on stage. 

The lanky 12 year-old then told the crowd about the band's Facebook page and the free wristbands his dad was handing out. "If you want a wristband, see my dad, he's the bald guy."

"It's awesome, I'm very proud," said Logan Rein's dad Larry, who owns a music school in West Palm and is Ryan Medina's vocal teacher. Logan Rein was serving as a guest drummer during the contest, because the band's regular drummer, Cory Ricardy, age 16, could not make it.

No doubt, it was an exciting weekend for the kids and they will have some fun stories to tell their pals when they're back in school Monday.