"The One" Cover Band Contest, at 115 Bourbon Street

So I heard about this cover band contest through some friends on Facebook. I'm also a fan of the group LAVA Rock, who is in this contest, and the reason I started going.  The contest is called "The One" and it's at 115 Bourbon Street in Merrionette Park, Illinois (not far form NWI) on Thursday nights.

The contest is kind of like American Idol, only for bands. There are judges, theme nights, and fan votes are important (but you HAVE to be there). I personally think the fan voting isn't very fair. While American Idol has a TV audience and fans can vote from home, for this, the fans HAVE to be there each night. 
Some bands seem more local and have a lot of fans every week. Other bands are from out of town and while VERY good, just don't have the fan base at the contest. For example, Party Anthem is a group of talented young musicians that come every week from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They were almost kicked out last week, probably due to lack of fan votes. Thankfully, the judges used their only save to keep them in the contest, if only for another week. I am hopeful for them.

The themes have been fun. Among them were 80's night, country night, and disco night. This past week was British invasion night. Some bands are straight forward and simply play the music, while others have fun with it and make it a show. All of them are good at what they do. There are only two weeks left, so if you are a fan of any of these bands, I highly suggest you make the trip and support them. They do need their fans to win.  

LAVA Rock

Take Cover

The Heart Sutra

Party Anthem

Puddin' Head

Me & The Fellas

LAVA Rock

115 Bourbon Street

3359 West 115th St

Merrionette Park, Il

708.388.8881

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Support local music and the arts!!

"The earth without art is just eh..."

** ALL photos on this blog are property of Christi Bushby, copyrighted and protected as such by law. Please see my copyright page for details and/or permissions of use. 

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Greg Ashby & Friends; Joe Baranowski Edition

Every Wednesday a wonderful thing happens in Northwest Indiana... A bunch of friends get together and play music. Sounds pretty average, right? Well not at Finnegan's Pub in Dyer, Indiana. The friendship and support among the musicians and music fans in this area is so strong, it's more like family. And the level of talent would blow the minds of anyone that just "stopped by".  

There are so many musicians in many different circles, but they are all connected. Once you become a "member" of a circle, you are part of the family. And it's astounding how large our family is. 

It always boggles my mind the things people miss or take for granted. In my photography, I like to see and photograph the little things as well as the large ones. When I'm in a car, I'll see something as wondrous as a hawk soaring above or sitting on a branch near the road. I'm also sure no one else is paying attention because they have places to be.

 I feel the same about the music we have in Northwest Indiana. Not enough people are paying attention, too busy in their own little worlds to look out of the box. We truly have world class talent here, playing for US. We are so very lucky. People, you don't have to go and pay $100 for some nose bleed seats to hear amazing music (not that there's anything wrong with that, by all means, continue to support national acts), you can hear some amazing music right here in a local pub. And there's video on this blog to support that!!

So, open your eyes and ears. Stop and smell the roses. Look up form your cell phones. Find and support our local musicians. Go see them. Go listen. And put away your phones..... ok, maybe take a picture or some videos and spread the word ;-) 

Just pay attention!

This was Joe's first "official" appearance with Greg, and he had plenty of support from his friends. (Joe is front left)

Cinnamon Girl

(Videos taken and provided 

by Mike Harle)

Mona Lisa & Madhatters

Mark Rongers is just fun to photograph, he's so full of energy and life!

Miss You

** ALL photos on this blog are property of Christi Bushby, copyrighted and protected as such by law. Please see my copyright page for details and/or permissions of use. 

Please feel free to share my blog! There are social media buttons on the bottom left for your convenience!