IAR’s The Next Level 5 competition, held on September 26th at Arlene’s Grocery, was packed with cheering IAR students, faculty, and fans of the IAR student performers competing on stage. Justin Headley & Monica Loefgren, Randy Cuevas, Radio Noise, No Outlet, The Fuzz Brothers, Greg Smith & The Broken English, Step Aside, Most Official, and K Banger performed while the audience cast their ballots for the winner. All musical tastes were satisfied, with the diversity of genres ranging from hip-hop to rock to good old-fashioned jam band.

Each competitor had the opportunity to experience the thrill of performing for a large audience in one of New York City’s most popular venues. Regardless of which act the crowd was there to see, each received cheers, applause, and support before and after their performance. The artists and spectators surrounded the merchandise tables for the latest IAR T-shirts, free IARecord CDs, as well as artists’ flyers and CDs. By the end of the night, the ballot box was nearly exploding with votes.

The ballots were tallied and the winner was announced on the following Monday. Step Aside won the competition and received a $1,000 CD prize package from Disc Makers and, of course, bragging rights. The high level of musical talent made for a stellar and impressive show, making this the best Next Level event to date. IAR would like to thank the performers, students, and faculty who came to enjoy the show, as well as faculty members Nell Gwynn for hosting the event and Jody Dobson, Georgia Aprile, and Dave Tardy for making the event one to remember