By Chip Chandler — Digital Content Producer
Amarillo-area bands can compete to open for a nationally touring act at Canyon's July 4 celebrations at the Oct. 1 Canyon Chamber Chow-Down.
Demos are due Friday for a battle of the bands — and the competition is wide open, said Roger Remlinger, the chamber's executive director.
"We haven't had one band sign up," Remlinger said.
They're missing out: The winner will open for the 2017 July 4 celebration for a nationally touring act still to be determined. Past headliners have included Gin Blossoms, Restless Heart and Little Texas.
"It's a great opportunity for anybody," Remlinger said.
Finalists will be selected by Sept. 23, and up to four finalists will compete during the Oct. 1 party at the First United Bank Center on the West Texas A&M University campus.
The Oct. 1 party will kick off with a happy hour from 1 to 3 p.m. Attendees will sample foods from cook teams from 3 to 6 p.m. (or as long as supplies last) and then check out music from 4 to 10 p.m.
Joshua Scott Jones, formerly of the duo Steel Magnolias, will headline with additional performances by Noah Jenda. (Riverbilly, the previously announced headliner, has broken up, Remlinger said.)
Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the gate; children 10 and younger are $5, but the chamber requests no children in strollers.
Call 806-655-7815.
Chip Chandler is a digital content producer for Panhandle PBS. He can be contacted at Chip.Chandler@actx.edu, at @chipchandler1 on Twitter and at www.facebook.com/chipchandlerwriter on Facebook.