Presents were under the tree, people were filled with good cheer and rock-n-roll filled the halls of the Workplay Theatre tonight.
The stage was shared by 3 top-notch acts in an effort to raise money and collect toys for First Light, a local shelter for women and children. I’m not sure if it was the holiday spirit, the music or the alcohol, but the place was electric. The bands were as well. Maybe they were in the holiday spirit too, because it was obvious that the guys on stage were having a hell of a good time. And based on tonight’s success, this is sure to be the first of many annual Rock the Halls concert events.
Local troubadour John Vogel headed up his Southside Community Band and took the stage first. Nashville country-rocker Hugh Mitchell and band followed (they go by the name ‘the Illegals’…because one or more members may or may not be official citizens of this fine country of ours) and introduced a handful of songs off of his upcoming EP. Hunter Barrow and the Gary Buseys finished off the evening in fine form. By the time they were into their set, they had members of all the other bands on stage playing and singing along. The end of the night even saw local songbird Erin Mitchell join all the bands on stage for a great version of the old holiday classic “Blue Christmas”. It was like a star-studded, whiskey-fueled Christmas Special on late night TV.
All in all, it was a fantastic night. Lots of fun and some truly exceptional music. Not to mention it was all for a really great cause. Hopefully Workplay will have more shows like this in the future. If they do, I’ll be the first in line for tickets.
