Middle and high school finalists who will get a chance to show what they’ve got before a panel of industry pros — i95 DJ Ethan Carey, Broadway star Linda Eder, singer/songwriter/producer Vaneese Thomas and bassist for the band Living Colour Doug Wimbish — when they compete for the title of BandJam 2015 Winner on Sunday, April 26, at 4 p.m. at the Ridgefield Playhouse.
The American Idol-style competition is a fund-raiser for the Playhouse. Middle school bands that will compete are GRaviToNiK (West Hartford), Abby and the Roadsters (South Salem and Katonah, N.Y., and Danbury and New Fairfield), Distorted Truth (Southbury), and Painting Elephants (Redding). In the high school category, it will be Short Change (Cross River, N.Y.), The Bothers (Ridgefield, Danbury, Wilton), Darkest Shade (Newtown and Danbury) and Clueless (Fairfield and Westport).
What began as a fund-raiser by enterprising students for the not-for-profit performing arts center has become a much-anticipated annual competition that raises significant funds for the Playhouse. This year’s BandJam is sponsored by Guitar Center, Music Shed, Pepsi, i95FM, the Enchanted Garden, and Hal Prince Music and Entertainment, with support from Ridgefield Music; video production is by pda films.
For tickets ($20, $15), call the box office at 203-438-5795 or go to ridgefieldplayhouse.org