Friday, February 23th The first round has come and gone and the Emergenza Festival has brought together some great talent and support for the local music scene in Kansas City. Our last shows saw some huge crowds and great acts headed into the semi-finals. First up, a straight up in your face rock band named Crash the Car. Call it melodic hard-rock with a mix of old and new school, Crash the Car has talent at all levels. They started strong and ended strong, they have a tight rhythm section and powerful vocals. Look for these guys in the semi-finals. Not to be outdone Lucid Fiction kept the same energy and the crowd really chanting for more. These guy were probably the most polished band with the same old and new hard-rock mix. These guys worked really hard on promotion and marketing (like Crash the Car) and all they need is a little diversity in their sound and their popularity is sure to attract more and more. Lowkuss is one of the most energetic and performance driven band that I’ve ever seen or heard. The lead singer is truly a front man, they all have great stage presence but they don’t let their playing suffer just for the sake of their stage performance. Lowkuss has a very creative sound that sounds very mainstream. About the only thing better than these guys are all their intense fans. Great show guys! Mr. Gribber kept the rock going strong. These guys have a solid sound and obvious talent, but some strides need to be made on stage. I hope these guys stay motivated and continue to learn and grow from every show they play. I would love to see where these guys are in a year. Keep up the solid start guys. Lastly, what does every rock show need? A great pop-rock band! Chasing 7 melted some hearts and actually got a good response from a more hard-rock crowd then expected. Thanks for mixing up the night guys. Saturday, February 24th Our last night gave us an eclectic mix from all over the Kansas City area. Aaron Heim Live is a band put together to showcase some good blues, classic rock sounds. They have a singer/songwriter feel with a tight rhythm section behind their lead guitarist/lead singer. A very solid three-piece, they played within themselves and had pretty good transition for their entire set. Tony Adlam & Friends is a very unique band. Mixing jazz and gospel music, these guys have a lot of talent for such a creative sound. Very melodic and fun to listen to, these guys don’t need a fancy paragraph to describe them. At their core they love music and they play it very well. Abject Horror was a screaming metal band with lots of energy from their lead singer. I wish the rest of the band had his energy. I appreciate the support they offered all the other bands too. Man versus Machine was a pleasant surprise. A mix of blues, experimental, progressive and metal music; the crowd really responded to their energy and genuine love for being on stage. The drums and bass worked really well together and the guitar player had some great licks. Look for these guys in the semi-finals. The Waiting List had a very good reputation going into their set as one of the most entertaining acts in the K.C. area. They did not disappoint. Lead guitar and singer Jenny Carr captivated the audience with her powerful vocals, cutting guitar work and if 1/10 of every band had her personality and love of music the world would be a much better place! Definitely catch them in the semi-finals. And finally for the first round we had Deviant Machine. These guys were a little frazzled on stage but they pulled together for a pretty solid set. I really enjoyed the guitar and drums and the lead vocals did not disappoint. These guys have a good melodic hard rock set and with some time I’m sure their fan base will grow. I am very excited for our second round in K.C. Much love to our music store Guitar Source for all their hard work and