Round One of the 2017 Heart of Texas Blues Challenge took place yesterday evening at Antone's Nightclub – and what an evening it was!
The first part of the night was devoted to our Solo/Duo competitors. All of the artists gave spirited and compelling performances, and the audience reacted very warmly to each. Our Round One performers were:
• The Southside Sheiks
• Kathy & The Kilowatts Duo
• Oso Diablo
After careful deliberation by our judges, Kathy & The Kilowatts Duo were selected as the Round One Solo/Duo winner!
Next, our band competition began. The four bands participating in this round were:
• The Anthony Wright Band
• The Ben Beckendorf Band
• Chris Oliver & Company
• Austin Nights
As with the Solo/Duo competition, the scoring was very close – each of these bands really wowed the crowd. After the dust had settled, our judging panel selected Chris Oliver & Company as the Round One Band winner!
Both of the Round One winners now advance to the Finals, which will be held at Antone's on Tuesday, August 8th.
We'd like to thank each of these amazing artists for participating in this year's challenge – the size of the Antone's crowd is a testament to their collective talents, and we look forward to seeing more performances from all of them!
Our thanks also go out to our distinguished panel of judges for Round One:
• Andrea Dawson
• Harold McMillan
• Oscar Ornelas
• Matthew Robinson
• Ben Stevens
We couldn't host an event like this without our terrific volunteers:
• Jordi Booher
• Bonnie Cook
• John Cook
• Michelle Eneboe
• Mike Eneboe
• Nick Eneboe
• Dena Fowler
• Marv Howse
• Kate Pounders
• Eileen Rau
• Rod Southern
Lastly, our sincere thanks to Antone's Nightclub and their staff – they were a tremendous help with staging this event!
Round Two takes place at Antone's on Sunday, August 6th – get your tickets here!