Following a two week-long voting period, in which seven bands from seven cities across the country vied for votes, both public and jury to be crowned winners of the first-ever Band Hunt powered by Red Bull Tour Bus, the distinction finally went to a blues-rock band from Chennai, Wayside.

Before the voting began, each of the seven bands, which included acts from Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata, and Goa, was given the opportunity to record a song at a studio in their city, and this was the song they were ultimately judged on. Wayside will now have the chance to play a gig atop the iconic Red Bull Tour Bus.

Here’s what the jury music journalist and co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Daily Pao, Amit Gurbaxani, music journalist and critic, Anurag Tagat, and head of programming for NH7 Weekender/OML, Debayan Deb had to say about Wayside:

Debayan Deb: Rock/Blues act Wayside pack a punch of alt rock aesthetics in their track 'Borderline Junkie'. While the riff holds the song together, the interplay between the drummer and the guitar player makes the song exciting.

Amit Gurbaxani: While all the bands were technically proficient, I was listening for originality the most, and Wayside seem to have both, with a song that blends alternative and blues rock and sounds like a cross between Blek and The Black Crowes, while simultaneously being unique and memorable.

Anurag Tagat: Wayside immediately conveyed I think what most of us can call "Indian rock" – one that throws back to the likes of Zero and Thermal and a Quarter – for being funky, multi-layered and shapeshifting and catchy all at once. 'Borderline Junkies' has all that and more, laced together with very cool blues licks.