By LYNNE HARLAN
Big House Radio members shown (left-right) left to right) Josh Mason, Jeff Redman, Aaron Plantenberg, Tommy Dennison and Jeremy Hyatt. (Photo courtesy of Big House Radio)
Big House Radio has been playing the area for nearly two years in clubs, at festivals and for private events where they have built a following. So, it was a natural that when the chance to compete for the Last Band Standing Contest they were up for the challenge.
The five friends call western North Carolina home. Aaron Plantenberg on rhythm guitar and Josh Mason on drums call Bryson City home, Jeff Redman on bass and Tommy Dennison on lead guitar call Sylva home, and Jeremy Hyatt, an EBCI tribal member from Birdtown, is the lead vocalist.
The band won the event, sponsored by WNC Magazine and the Orange Peel, by placing in the top four during a voting contest on the magazine’s website then by winning a concert competition against three other top vote getting bands at The Orange Peel in Asheville on June 23.
The winners were chosen through a combination of crowd response during the concert and a tally of votes. Their prize is the opening concert at the 2010 Bele Chere Festival in Asheville. The band will open the Rock-N-Kiss Stage on Coxe Avenue at 3:30pm on July 23. The date will also coincide with the release of their first CD expected the end of July or the first of August.
