The Liberty Theatre served as the setting for the Wood River Valley’s inaugural Battle of the Bands this past weekend. And music afficionado and documentary filmmaker John P. Marsh was there to capture the rockin’ talent of local bands.

He put together a 4 ½-minute piece for Eye on Sun Valley out of a larger piece he made with producer Sara Burns, and chances are you will be sorry you missed the action.

Up a Creek won the Judges Choice Award, earning a recording session in Boise. And the Heath Owens Band from Kimberly won the Audience Choice Award, earning them a trip to the 2025 Sawtooth Valley Gathering in Stanley. Up a Creek won $1,000 for The Hunger Coalition, and The Heath Owens Band chose the Jae Foundation, a Twin Falls-organization addressing suicide, depression and mental health.

P.S. The music continues at The Liberty Theater with Idaho balladeer and roadkill mortician Connor Jay Liess at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23. Liess will strum stories about Idaho’s early days as a territory, along with some Western ballads, Appalachian mountain traditions and original frontier folk music inspired by stories from the 1800s.