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This article was published 16/09/2010 (5585 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Just as they have for the past four years each September, Brandon University students invaded the city’s downtown last night for the Brandon University Students’ Union’s Rock The Block band bash.

A near sell-out crowd flooded Rosser Avenue between Seventh and Ninth streets last night for the first real party of the 2010 post-secondary year.

"It’s a good ‘get to know you’ kind of thing," BUSU president Jade Visser said.

"We usually don’t even make much of a profit, it’s usually a break-even event. But we do this for the community and the students. We do it for them to enjoy it."

From the second the stage erupted in sound at 6 p.m., six bands entertained the enthusiastic crowd, culminating in a closing performance by Nova Scotia headliners, The Trews.

"We’ve really tried to make it grow every year," Visser said.

"We’re hoping that it can continue to do that. We upped the capacity this year and we have six bands instead of the five we had last year, including the openers.

"Continuing to make it bigger and a higher quality event for the students and the community is our goal."

First-year students Stephanie Galbraith and Cori Nicholson said they came to Rock The Block to meet new people and were surprised to find such talent in one of the event’s two local bands, Take With Audio.

"It’s totally fun because everybody’s meeting people," Galbraith said.

"It’s really nice to see people having a good time and I didn’t really know a lot of the bands before, so it’s been nice."

"It’s cool to see a whole bunch of people together in a big group, just hanging out," Nicolson added.

Another Brandon band, Neon Blunt, also hit the stage prior to a performance from West Coast band Daniel Wesley.

"We’ve played with the Trews at Rocking the Fields (of Minnedosa) and we’ve also played with Faber Drive before … we’re all just really good friends, so it’s really nice meeting back together and putting on a really good rock show," Bernie Wolski, Neon Blunt’s drummer, said of the event.

"We’ve had such a great music scene in Brandon for the past five years and it’s just been growing. We need to up the ante on our live music every year and the best way to do that is come out and support us."

However, for some in attendance, it was clear it was the star power of some of the night’s better-known bands that drew them in.

Seconds after making her way through the gate, second-year student Tricia Palmer was already dancing to synth-pop sounds of Vancouver-based band Faber Drive.

"It’s just the live bands and the experience," she said before making her way to the stage. "I love them! It’s pretty exciting."

Mississauga, Ont., foursome illScarlet followed Faber Drive’s high energy performance, and as of press time, The Trews were still entertaining the crowd of close to 2,000.