Category Archives: – Contests

Texas Music Showdown, Rd 1 Wk , White Elephant Saloon

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Musicians and judges involved in Wk 1, Rd. 1 of the Texas Music Showdown.

Musicians and judges involved in Wk 1, Rd. 1 of the Texas Music Showdown.

It’s been going on for several years, this Texas Music Showdown at the White Elephant Saloon in the Fort Worth Stockyards, and this year, in fact Wednesday (Feb. 12), it kicked the new year’s contest off in  style befitting the grandeur of the stately historic saloon.

It was Buffalo Ruckus, The Cody Joe Hodges Band, and The LDJ Band who took the stage, one at a time of course, by storm. They each were given one full song as a sound check, then three original songs and one cover as part of their competition.

When the LDJ Band went through its soundcheck song, they set the stage with high energy, professionalism in delivery, and personal charm that both of the following bands were challenged to meet. And Buffalo Ruckus and the Cody Joe Hodges band members each met the challenge, in strong force.

Judges were Brett Dillon, KHYI personality and coordinator for the White Elephant Saloon; Darryl Lee Rush, singer/songwriter; and Frank Jackson, Smith Music Group. They had a hard decision to make, but announced at the end they determined that it would be Buffalo Ruckus moving on into Round Two.

There are a total of 12 bands in Round One, and next week (Feb. 19) the bands are The Twisted Pistols, Random Rhodes, and Keeper of the Plains. Week 3 consists of Cole Allen, Koe Wetzel & The Konvicts, and Travis Bolt & Co. vying for the trailer-full of prizes; and Week 4 brings Kyle Stallings Band, Big Joe Walker, and the Molotov Dogs together at the White Elephant.

Round Two consists of two weeks, two bands each week; and two of those will compete for the grand prize. We’ll keep you posted.

For Cody Joe Hodges Band pix, click here

For Buffalo Ruckus Band pix, click here

For the LDJ Band pix, click here

For a few other pix, click here

 

Rusty Wier challenge, Rd 2 Wk 1, 12.29.13

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Rusty Wier challenge musicians and judges, Dec. 29.

Rusty Wier challenge musicians and judges, Dec. 29.

The 4th-ever Rusty Wier contest is nearing the 50-yard line now, with six musicians playing Sunday (Dec. 29) on the Love & War in Texas (Plano) patio stage. Those were: Scott Sean White, Town Walsh, Chad Purdom, Heath Webb, Thawind Mills, and Jason Lovell. David Byboth was to have competed, also, but as organizer and host Brett Dillon announced, Byboth was hospitalized at the time. Dillon said that there will be a spot for Byboth at a future round.

In this round, as in all of them, the musicians are competing not only against those playing that same night, but against all those in the round. There are four judges each night, and their score sheets are tallied at the end of the round. This week, those judges were Dallas Songwriter Association president Roger Russell; Dillon, also with KHYI; Trisha Aker, Rusty Wier’s widow; and yours truly here, Mary Jane Farmer.

The group photo included here shows all the musicians except for Mills, who drove up from his home town of Austin, and left to make that trek back after his 4-song set.

Prizes for the winner include a season pass for two for Love & War’s Shiner Sundays; studio time at Bent Leaf in Denison; an opening spot for one of those Shiner Sunday lead acts; a Kona guitar, being introduced at March 8’s Texas Music Revolution festival and then introducing one of the major acts; and other perks.

For photos, click here:

 

Rusty Wier challenge, Rd 1 Wk 3, 12.22.13

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The whole gang, and one photo-bomber. Can you spot him?

The whole gang, and one photo-bomber. Can you spot him?

Round 1 has come and gone, and 21 musicians are remaining in the running for the final prizes in the 4th-ever Rusty Wier singer-songwriter challenge. This contest is sponsored by host venue Love & War in Texas (Plano), which is offering as prizes an opening set in their 2014 Shiner Sunday series, plus a season ticket for two to the entire concert series. Other prizes include studio time with Bent Leaf Studios in Denison, and some radio with on KHYI, 95.3.

The third week of this first round was Sunday, Dec. 22, and 10 of the 12 contestants scheduled to perform did so, the other two had to opt out because of sickness. Those participating were Cye Carter, Bryan Adam Joyner, Nick Flint, Matthew Jolley, Tracie Merchant, Chad Purdom, Rory Payne, Danny Zagotta, Ty Young, and Trace Thompson. Each brought three songs to the stage, in song swaps that let the evening move fast and joyfully. The outside patio, which is now more an inside patio what with all the improvements that owner Tory and all the gang have done to enclose and heat it, was filled with friends and family and even with other singer/songwriters who had tried out but didn’t make it that far. That’s just the way Texas and Oklahoma musicians are — big people with big hearts for big music!

Roger Russell, Tricia Aker, Brett Dillon (coordinator) and yours truly here were the score-givers, aka judges, and these scores were compared with the previous 24 musicians of the past two weeks. From their scores, here’s who is moving on into Round 2:  Jason Lovell, Town Walsh, Danny Zagotta, Justin Alan Pickard, Rory Payne, Tin Man Travis, David Byboth, Shannon Choate, Kyle Brooks, Chase Carpenter, Scott Sean White, Thawind Mills, Cye Carter, Chad Purdom, Ty Young, Byron Dowd, Tracie Merchant, Heath Webb, Cole Risner, Will Hancock, and Alex Gates. Not a shabby songwriter in the group!

But it’s not over yet! Now, there’s 3 weeks of seven performers each, beginning this coming Sunday, and this time they’ll have a chance to perform four of their originals.  This first group of seven will be:  Jason Lovell, Town Walsh, David Byboth, Scott Sean White, Thawind Mills, Chad Purdom, and Heath Webb. It all starts at 4 p.m., and there’s never a cover charge to get in.

For photos, click here

 

Hank’s Open Mic Challenge, semi-finals

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For photos, click here:  Hank's log

Wednesday night (Dec. 18) brought to the Hank’s Texas Grill stage a dozen or so of the finest singers and/or songwriters in the area. Each was there in hopes of gaining some career-enhancing prizes, including, for the final winner, a gig of their own on the Hank’s stage. It’s a relatively quick contest, when compared with some others, in that it only goes on for four weeks… the first two are try-outs, then (this week) the semi-finals, and lastly (Thursday, Dec. 26), the final night of the challenge.

It’s the 4th year for this competition. Previous winners were Aubrey Lynn England, Kyle Thompson, and Tanner Usrey.

Wednesday night found host Tyler Rogers and songwriter Tony Ramey opening the night with several songs of their own. Then, the challenge began. Jasper Bradshaw, Kevin Edwards, David Aguirre, Danny Zagotta, Scott Sean White, Aaron King, Crystal White, Cody Jackson, Bryan Adam Joyner, and Ray White competing as solo artists, and the trio of Rocko Campbell, Bryan Norfolk, and Tipper McNatt playing as a trio.

Now, moving on into the finals are:  David Aguirre, Jasper Bradshaw, Cody Jackson, Bryan Adam Joyner, Scott Sean White, Crystal White, and the Tipper/Rocko/Bryan trio.

Rogers said that his hope is that “everyone has made new friends and fans, and that everyone continues to pursue their passion for performing music, no matter what the outcome turns out to be.”

It starts about 8 p.m. on the post-Christmas night at Hank’s, which is at the SE corner of U.S. 75 and White Avenue in McKinney.

Hank’s Open Mic contest, Dec. 2K13

Host Tyler Rogers

Host Tyler Rogers

Photos by Mary Jane Farmer

Hank’s Texas Grill in McKinney is again hosting its yearly Open Mic competition. This one is unique from so many contests in that it’s not necessarily about  songwsriting, but is more about the performance and the crowd reactions. Two preliminary weeks, Dec. 4 and 11; semi-finals Dec. 18; and since Christmas Day falls on Wednesday, the finals will be on Thursday, Dec. 26.

Participating in Week 1 were the trio of Rocho, Bryan, and Tippa; Danny Zagotta; Crystal White; Tony Ramey; David Aguirre; Joseph Bradshaw; and Dextin Wheeler. Tyler Rogers will be the host each week, helping Hank’s get this contest together every night with all the minute details such an endeavor requires.

For all Week 1 photos, click here   (Sorry, didn’t get any good shots of Joseph Bradshaw this week.)

Come on out and hear the good music, 3 songs from each musician or group, and not a cover charge for this. Starts about 8 p.m. each night, more or less.