LAST BANJO STANDING CONTEST HEATING UP AS CHICAGO COOLS DOWN: WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED THIS WEEK
Chicago, IL – October 13, 2008. The 2008 Chicago Blues and Bluegrass Festival’s LAST BANJO STANDING CONTEST is in full swing, with over 75 bands vying to join David Grisman and the Avett Brothers on the festival’s main stage.
The event’s organizers are extremely grateful for the thousands who have already voted in support of their favorite acts, as some extremely talented acts have surged to the top of the leaderboard.
Current leading vote getters, Squeeze-Bot, a group of accordion, banjo, and tuba enthusiasts from Louisville, are trying to hang on to the top spot. They are being closely pursued by North Carolina’s Josh Phillips Folk Festival, led by the former front man of the wildly popular Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band.
In third is the “explosively intoxicating” and fellow Carolinian natives Holy Ghost Tent Revival, a clear favorite of Avett Brothers fans, as evidenced by some good-spirited campaigning on the Avett’s online message board.
Rounding out the top five are some local talents. In fourth is newcomer Donnie Biggins, an Oak Park, IL native who has mounted an impressive community-wide campaign to emerge from the pack. In fifth is Tangleweed, a hometown Americana group trying to inject some Chicago talent into the mix.
While the leaders have been established, the contest isn’t over by any means. The polls remain open until the end of day on 10/17. The votes will be tallied and a jury comprised of artists already on the bill will choose the winning artist amongst the top 5 vote-getters. The winner will be announced at 12:00 a.m. on October 18th, at www.cbbfestival.com.
Will the previously mentioned five hold onto the top spots? Or will another artist emerge from the pack to claim a spot in what will surely be a taxing decision for the jury of their peers. With only four days of voting left, it is up to the fans to decide.
ABOUT THE CHICAGO BLUEGRASS & BLUES FESTIVAL:
On November 22nd, 2008, the Congress Theater will host the inaugural Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival (cbbfestival.com). While rooted in the foot-stomping influences of bluegrass and blues, the Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival will transport the concertgoer through the genre-defying evolution of music today. The one-day event will serve as a tribute to two schools of music that continue to shape and inspire contemporary rock, jamband, funk, folk, roots, Americana, and indie cultures, while allowing festivalgoers to save a heart. A portion of each $31 ticket will be donated to the Saving tiny Hearts Society (www.savingtinyhearts.org), an non-profit organization that raises money for America’s #1 birth defect, congenital heart defects (CHD).
