Texas Music Showdown, finals, Buffalo Ruckus ahead

Buffalo Ruckus

It was their second contest, and Buffalo Ruckus took home first place in the White Elephant Saloon/KHYI’s 9th Texas Music Showdown Wednesday (March 26, 2014), but it took the judges about an hour to come to a decision. It was that close between the Ruckus and their opponent, Koe Wetzel & the Konvicts.  In the interim, Koe and his guys, and the Buffalo Ruckus foursome spent time together, and at the end of the night, they were firm and fast friends. So much so, that the Ruckus offered one of their grandest of prizes to the Konvicts.

This was a 7-week contest, beginning with 12 bands. That broke down to four bands, and then, for this final event, the two remaining bands. Judges for the final were Dave Perez (The Tejas Brothers), Jeff Prince (Fort Worth Weekly), Larry Joe Taylor (musician,Texas Music Festival and more), Tommy Alverson (musician and his Family Gathering), and Brett Dillon (KHYI and event coordinator). Both Larry Joe and Tommy are providing a slot on their festivals for the winning band, and KHYI offers an automatic slot in the 2014 Shiner Rising Star contest. Last year’s Texas Music Showdown winner, Green Light Pistol, also won the 2014 Shiner Rising Star contest with its automatic entry.

It was that entry that Jason Lovell, lead singer for Buffalo Ruckus, and his band asked KHYI to give to The Konvicts. Dillon said it would be up to others at the radio station to make that decision, but he would certainly offer it (after expressing his disappointment that the Ruckus wouldn’t be in the SRS contest). The Ruckus was in the 2013 SRS, coming in second to Green Light Pistol.

That aside, both bands were amazing, both bands brought good crowds with them. Ruckus is from the

Koe Wetzel & The Konvicts

mid-cities area and the Konvicts are from Stephenville. Both bands were incredibly talented and entertaining. Both bands deserved the win, but only one could get it. And that seemed to be a tough decision for the judges. Some came out of their chambers for breaths of fresh air, and later it was learned that the votes switched back and forth several times.

When Dillon announced the decision, he explained that it was the closest of calls ever. And when the winner was announced, Lovell and Wetzel exchanged handshakes and attaboys before doing anything else.

Buffalo Ruckus will have an early Tuesday night, April 22, gig at the Larry Joe Taylor Texas Music Festival.

For Koe Wetzel & The Konvicts pix, click here

For Buffalo Ruckus pix, click here

For a few more pix, click here

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