Tracker Pixel for Entry

Battle of the Hamm’s

Beer Snob | February 26th, 2020

cover design by Raul Gomez

At the end of November, The Aquarium was slated to host an illustrious event called “Battle of the Hamm’s.” However, in a turn of events that seems all too familiar this winter, inclement weather got in the way. “Much like many winter months the snow got the best of us that day,” said Ryan Hoffart, longtime booker in the Fargo-Moorhead area who as of last summer took over booking and overall directing of the Aquarium. The night did not end up going to waste, though.

“Some of the bands still wanted to play and the night was still a great time.” Fortunately, that was not the last to be heard of Battle of the Hamm’s, as a new date was lined up near the end of February. “I’m super thankful that it could get rescheduled as a whole,” said Hoffart.

What is Battle of the Hamm’s? “The general concept is a battle of the bands between ten artists, but each performer’s entry fee is a 30 pack of delightful Hamm’s beer,” said Hoffart. Each artist will perform and then the winner will be voted on by the crowd. The winner will win the illustrious Hamm’s championship belt and 300 cans of Hamm’s beer.” So what are the origins of this contest of champions?

Therein lies a tale. In the early 2000s, Chris Lindstrom and Chris Moore came up with the idea. Both were involved in the local music scene at the time. In the eighteen years he lived in Fargo, Lindstrom played in We $ell 2 Minors, North to Emerson, What Kingswood Needs, and KumnCyde before eventually moving to Oxford, Ohio. Lindstrom gives the brunt of the credit for Battle’s creation to Moore, who was his former college roommate.

“We were living together when he came up with it,” said Lindstrom. It really started because it was just a reason for a bunch of friends to play a show together. I think at the first one we had like ten bands? And it was Hamm’s beer because it was just a play on words, and we knew it was cheap. Plus it’s just funny. That’s a big part of it, too. Dumb senses of humor. The idea of a band receiving 300 cans of Hamm’s beer as a prize is hilarious. And usually that just means that whatever band wins has a party that night with a shitload of free beer.” Lindstrom played in Battle of the Hamm’s each of the four times it has occurred: once in We $ell 2 Minors, twice in North to Emerson (which won once), and once in What Kingswood Needs.

After that, the Battle stopped for several years. “Chris Moore moved away, the scene in Fargo/Moorhead seemed to change where it seemed tough to pull it together with different bands and different genres and shit,” said Lindstrom. “But we’d talked about it for a while, and then one summer I was like, ‘F*ck it. I’m going to see if I can pull it off.’ And I ended up giving all the proceeds to the Rape and Abuse Crisis Center.”

“It’s been almost five years since the last one happened,” said Hoffart, “and hopefully if Lindstrom is alright with it at the very least Fargo will keep doing it bi-annually. The event is too fun to go another five years without it.”

This incarnation of Battle of the Hamms sees local hardcore favorites Swing Low returning to defend their title. The rest of the lineup is one of the most diverse that the Aquarium has had in some time, according to Hoffart, featuring a range from hardcore punk to blues to metal. The lineup includes: the aforementioned Swing Low, Pass the Flask (punk), Stovepipes (blues), Jantzonia (rap), Bottle Wound (punk), Disappear Forever (indie/shoegaze), Walker Rider (alt country), Wastelord, Shrug (newer indie), and Widow (new death metal).

Besides a diverse lineup of local musicians and a hell of a lot of Hamm’s beer, the Aquarium will have door prizes of random Hamm’s swag available to attendees and specials on Hamm’s pounders. It is bound to be a night of partying, fun, and music. And, depending on how well this one goes off, it sounds like there is hope for more in the future. “I’m glad Ryan is doing another one,” said Lindstrom. “And it was never about winning. It was just about getting together with your friends and playing music. And I hope it continues as that.”

IF YOU GO:
Battle of the Hamm’s
Friday, February 28, 7pm-howling
The Aquarium, 226 N Broadway, Fargo

Recently in:

By Winona LaDukewinona@winonaladuke.com The business of Indian Hating is a lucrative one. It’s historically been designed to dehumanize Native people so that it’s easier to take their land. ‘Kill the Indian, save the man,”…

By Winona LaDukewinona@winonaladuke.comThere’s not really a word for reconciliation, it's said in our language. There’s a word for making it right. To talk about reconciliation in terms of the relationship between Indigenous…

December 16, 18-20, 12 p.m.Fargo Theatre, 314 Broadway N., FargoDon’t miss an annual Fargo Theatre holiday tradition. The Red River Theatre Organ Society presents (almost) a full week of holiday concerts on the Mighty Wurlitzer…

By Jim Fugliejimfuglie920@gmail.com Okay, so last month I promised you a woman President of the United States. So much for my predictability quotient. Lesson 1: Never promise something you can’t control. And nobody, not even…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comWill God Ever Text Margaret Back and Answer Her Prayers?More than 50 years ago a young Judy Blume wrote about 13-year-old Margaret Simon in a contemporary realistic novel titled “Are You There,…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com In this land of hotdish and ham, the knoephla soup of German-Russian heritage seems to reign supreme. In my opinion though, the French have the superior soup. With a cheesy top layer, toasted baguette…

By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.com Local band Zero Place has been making quite a name for itself locally and regionally in the last few years. Despite getting its start during a time it seemed the whole world was coming to…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com Writer-director Nicole Riegel’s sophomore feature “Dandelion” is now playing in theaters following a world premiere at South by Southwest in March. The movie stars KiKi Layne as the…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comIn 1974, the Jamestown Arts Center started as a small space above a downtown drugstore. It has grown to host multiple classrooms, a gallery, performance studio, ceramic studio and outdoor art park.…

By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comHigh Plains Reader had the opportunity to interview two mysterious new game show hosts named Milt and Bradley Barker about an upcoming event they will be putting on at Brewhalla. What…

By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…

By Josette Ciceronunapologeticallyanxiousme@gmail.com What does it mean to truly live in a community —or should I say, among community? It’s a question I have been wrestling with since I moved to Fargo-Moorhead in February 2022.…

Rynn WillgohsJanuary 25, 1972-October 8, 2024 Rynn Azerial Willgohs, age 52, of Vantaa, Finland, died by suicide on October 8, 2024. Rynn became her true-self March 31, 2020. She immediately became a vocal and involved activist…

By Curtis W. Stofferahn, Ph.D.Curtis.stofferahn@email.und.edu In June, two events markedly contrasted the difference between two different visions of agriculture: precision agriculture and regenerative agriculture. The dedication…