The beats of electronica, hip-hop and punk will fill the Jackpot Saloon tonight and Saturday night for KJHK’s annual Farmer’s Ball.

The Farmer’s Ball is a three-day concert series that gives local bands the opportunity to compete in front of a live audience. The competition began Thursday night when four of eight bands played, and it will continue tonight and Saturday.

Rachael Gray, Blue Rapids senior and director of live events for KJHK, said the event was connected to one of the station’s weekly radio shows. The show, “Plow the Fields,” is KJHK’s longest running program and features local music.

“We just think of Farmer’s Ball as a cultivation of what local musicians have been doing in the last year,” Gray said.

Elise Stawarz, Omaha, Neb. senior and president of KJHK, said Farmer’s Ball generally featured newer, lesser known bands that didn’t have much experience with live performances.

She said their inexperience often led to technical challenges such as getting sound checks right.

“Nothing too traumatic, but definitely things have been entertaining,” Stawarz said.

Audiences at the Jackpot Saloon vote to narrow the eight bands to four finalists. The top two bands from Thursday night and tonight will compete Saturday in the finals and the audience will pick the winner.

The winning band will receive studio time at Black Lodge, a recording studio in Eudora. The winner will also receive free merchandise from Blue Collar Press, a company that produces customized T-shirts and buttons, and a photo shoot with Alex Bonham-Carter, Omaha, Neb., senior.

A group of KJHK DJs and staff chose the eight bands from 41 submissions. Gray said they considered musicality, originality and playability for KJHK while making the decision.

“Basically it’s just a taste of what KJHK has developed over the years,” Gray said.

Andrew Frederick, Shawnee junior, will perform with Frederick and the Six Angry Telephones tonight. Frederick said the band played fun, melodic music they hoped would be more than a conversation piece.

“We’re making the kind of music that we want to listen to,” Frederick said. “Overall it’s probably just to make you dance a bit.”

Stawarz said the concert helped KJHK build relationships with local bands and expose students to good bands they may not have heard of in the past. Gray said past winners had gained a lot of popularity and gone on to have successful local music careers.

Sean Wilson, Lee Summit, Mo., senior and promotions director for KJHK has attended the event in the past, but will be performing with his band, Dream Lover, for the first time this year.

“The music’s always interesting,” Wilson said. “It’s a good show.”

The four bands playing tonight will draw to determine their order at 9:30 p.m. and the music starts at 10 p.m.

— — Edited by Jennifer Torline