August 15, 2020

Last year, the band 76 Degrees West brought its A-game to the Anthem music venue in Washington, D.C., before a raucous crowd during the AVMA Concert at AVMA Convention 2019. The band played favorites from multiple genres, including R&B, jazz, funk, Motown, and classic rock, and beat out the bands For the Win and Riverside Lights to win the title of Top Dog during the AVMA’s first Battle of the Bands. 76 Degrees West even put on an encore performance outdoors at the Wharf with fireworks going off in the background.

Leon Rawlings, music director and founder of 76 Degrees West, told JAVMA News in a recent interview, “When it was over, there was so much energy and buzz about the event. Everyone was happy. It was so electric in the room there.

“It helps when you have different genres of music. The other bands were great. For me, I was like, ‘We’re going to have to bring it.’ The people decide. We don’t decide what’s what. We do what we do and have a good time. And I guess the people liked what they saw.”

When the group was asked to return for another round, the decision wasn’t hard. “We really had a great time. If it works, keep it going,” he said.

This year, 76 Degrees West is returning for the second AVMA Battle of the Bands—this time in a virtual format because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 76 Degrees West, which features a four-piece horn section, several vocalists, and a five-piece rhythm section, will face off against two groups from Jacksonville, Florida: The RiverTown Band, a 10-piece band including four vocalists that plays classic favorites to current hits and features nonstop medleys and mashups, and The Royals, a nine-piece international party band with a playlist that ranges from current Top 40 to classic hits of the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, and more.

The event, sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim, will take place online from 6:30-7:30 p.m. EDT on Friday, Aug. 21, as part of the AVMA Virtual Convention 2020. It’s free to all convention attendees. The AVMA will have live voting throughout, and the event will culminate with an encore performance of the winning band. Afterward, the concert will be available on demand through the end of the year. Attendees are encouraged to host watch parties with their families or at their clinics—held outdoors or in another manner that allows for social distancing.

Rawlings says he’s glad to be performing during a time when the entertainment industry has all but shut down. The band usually performs two to four events a month. Since COVID-19 hit, members have been playing sessions together or playing at home and sending files to one another as they work on their third album.

Rawlings, who plays bass and trombone, says this year’s performance will be just as memorable as before.

“Bring your dancing shoes because we will amp it up two times from what we did last year,” he said.