Phoenix Rock Lottery At Crescent Ballroom To Benefit Rosie's House
By: A.A. Cristi Dec. 19, 2019
Each year, the Phoenix Rock Lottery features a lineup of musicians from diverse backgrounds and musical styles. These musicians deliver a totally unique experience for fans due to the unpredictable nature of the event. The participating musicians show up on the morning of the Rock Lottery each year with no idea who they will be in a band with, what style of music they will play, or what songs they will perform, since the songs will be written that day.
Bands are created at random on the morning of January 11th by drawing names from a hat. The five new bands will then have that day, and that day only, to write and rehearse a set of songs to perform live in concert that night at Crescent Ballroom. Each band will write three original songs and choose a cover song to perform.
The 2020 Phoenix Rock Lottery will feature an entirely New Group of musicians. No musicians from the previous lotteries were included, although a number of performers come from bands previously represented in years past, like Katastro, Harper And The Moths, Las Chollas Peligrosas, Jared & The Mill, Pro Teens, Phoenix Afrobeat Orchestra, and more!
"Every year we spend a lot more time on the line up than the previous years," said the event's producer Stephen Chilton. "A great deal of discussion goes into creating the most diverse group of musicians possible. We especially focus on involving younger musicians in the early stages of their music career. The original goal of doing the rock lottery was to bring together musicians that otherwise might never cross paths, and that goal would not be served if we only looked to the same pool of talent every year."
Some of those newer faces include this year Saydi Driggers of Whstle, Meghan Herring of Doll Skin, Molly Mashal of Good Boy Daisy, Joe Allie of Brother Teresa and Audrey Heartburn, Ark Calkins of Like Diamonds, Gabi Jr. and Sunroom, and Aislinn Ritchie of Dovi.
This year the event will be hosted by MO!, a massive supporter of the local business and music scene in the valley. You can catch her lively personality, Monday through Friday 5:30 to 10a on ALT AZ 93.3. Between bands, local DJ Mitch Freedom will be spinning the best recorded music from Phoenix's local scene. Freedom is half of the DJ duo Hi-Dreams, member of Phoenix Afrobeat Orchestra, and Phoenxi Rock Lottery alumni.
The Phoenix Rock Lottery has received lots of praise since its inception six years ago. The 1st Phoenix Rock Lottery, held at Crescent Ballroom on February 9th, 2014, was named "Best Club Show in Phoenix 2014" in the Phoenix New Times "Best Of Phoenix" issue. They described the event as "yielding goods that had Phoenix feeling pretty damn great about its music scene." The 2015 solo 7" series by Jimmy Eat World's Jim Adkins included the song "Love Don't Wait," originally written during that first lottery. In 2016, the band Wet Lab, formed in the 2nd Phoenix Rock Lottery, released formal recordings of two of the songs they wrote together on cassette via the new local label Saint Joseph. The single was prominently marketed nationally as part of that year's Cassette Store Day.
For the seventh year in a row, the proceeds of the Phoenix Rock Lottery will benefit Rosie's House, a local non-profit organization that delivers the underserved youth of greater Phoenix the gift of music education by providing instruments and free instruction. Rosie's House: A Music Academy for Children is committed to playing a pivotal role in a child's future and strengthening our community. At Rosie's House, a free music academy for children facing economic adversity in inner-city Phoenix, we bridge achievement in life through achievement in music. Rosie's House believes music education creates hope, fuels the imagination, sparks creativity and is a powerful force for social justice and vitality in our community. Overall, we serve 450 youth annually with our creative youth development programming; providing 12,000 free music lessons, loaning 250 instruments and producing over 50 concerts each year. http://www.rosieshouse.org
"The Phoenix Rock Lottery is a unique and local event that supports the mission and students of Rosie's House. 100% of proceeds benefit our mission of providing equitable access to music education for youth who are economically disadvantaged, and specifically the event generates enough revenue to underwrite one group piano class with 11 students. We know that the musicians involved in the Phoenix Rock Lottery share in our belief that no student should be denied access to music education because of their economic status - we are honored that this annual event helps us make music possible for more youth in Phoenix," said CEO Becky Bell Ballard.
"For the past 6 years, the Phoenix Rock Lottery has showcased the creativity of our local music community and I can't wait for year 7! It never ceases to amaze me at how much talent is in the Valley, and how charitable Phoenix musicians are. I am also always so impressed by the risk-taking, vulnerability and collaboration that is happening on the stage. It is an event that each year has surprises and moments of brilliance, and for the audience it is a once in a life-time event as the make-up of the bands, the musical selections, and the new songs created will only be onstage for one evening," said Ballard. When asked about Rosie's House's plans for the near future, Ballard replied "[next year] will be a year of continued growth in our band, orchestra and mariachi programs. We are also expanding our Digital Music classes where our students learn two languages: computer coding and music. We are honored with the support of our local community to continue to execute on our mission and our values of access, excellence, community and creativity."
Complete list of musicians performing in the 2020 Phoenix Rock Lottery:
Matt Aldawood (Troubled Minds) Joe Allie (Audrey Heartburn / Brother Teresa) Janel Blanco (The Maya Spectra) Etti Bowen (Harper and the Moths) Brea Burns (Brea Burns & The Boleros) Ark Calkins (Like Diamonds / Gabi Jr / Sunroom) Brian Chartrand (The Sweet Remains / Live From Laurel Canyon) Tatiana Crespo (Las Chollas Peligrosas) Raquel Denis (Raquel Denis) Saydi Driggers (Whstle) Larry Gast III (Jared & The Mill) Trevor Hedges (Sundressed) Meghan Herring (Doll Skin) John-Josiah Hernandez (Herbert Walker / Pro Teens) Scott Johnson (Gin Blossoms) Jeff Jones (Phoenix Afrobeat Orchestra) Matt Klassen (Coyote Tango) Molly Mashal (Good Boy Daisy) Tyler Matock (Mr Mudd & Mr Gold) Israel Reyes (Rebecca De La Torre / Bohemian Insurgence) Jordan Raub (Cheap Hotels) Aislinn Ritchie (Dovi) Torri Ross (Sad Dance Party) Nate Vanderpol (Viper Club) Ryan Weddle (Katastro)
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