Eight local bands, one big show

Chris Erickson said a couple of tribute shows he'd seen in Grand Forks over the years had stood out in his mind. So, when he decided to organize a concert of his own, he just chose a couple of his favorite recording artists and set out to make a night of it.

"I just thought a tribute show is kind of a cool thing," he said.

Erickson set the lineup of eight local bands and told them they had to follow one rule -- they needed to perform Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash songs during their performances Friday night at the Muddy Rivers ballroom in the International Guesthouse downtown.

The show will start at 9 p.m. and each band will play a set ranging from 15 minutes to 40 minutes. The show is expected to run until about 1:30 a.m. or maybe a little later, he said, and tickets are available for $5 at the door. This is the lineup:

- The North River Ramblers.

- The Noblemen.

- Dewaine Wakeman with Ron Franz.

- June Panic with Wife.

- The Hasty Ladies.

- The House Guitars.

- Andrew McCabe.

- Peat Moss.

Full-time event

Erickson met lots of local musicians during his time spent managing the open mic night at The Hub as well as a couple of years running a similar event at Mike's Pizza. So, when he started to think about which artists would be good for a Dylan and Cash tribute show, he relied on his years of networking to create a solid lineup.

"I just tried to pick an eclectic mix of our local music scene here," he said. "The music itself will vary from set to set, and you'll be able to see many different kinds of music within the framework of this."

Friday night's music will kick off with a short spoken-word segment about the original artists. From there, the show will have a boxing match theme, complete with a ring girl and a ring announcer.

"I'm trying to make it into a full-time event here," he said. Those in attendance will be in store for several hours of Dylan and Cash covers.

"If it wasn't something that they wrote, it will be something that they performed," he said. "I've been kind of militant on that."

Erickson said the choice of artists to cover allows the local bands to have some creative control over their performances.

"There's so many songs from these guys to cover," he said. "I guess I figured just about all kinds of genres of music could find a Dylan or Cash song to do."

At the end of the night, the concert will conclude with all the musicians on stage together. Each person will "pick a side" -- either Dylan or Cash -- and the two groups will take turns performing one song each.

The winner will be determined by the audience, Erickson said.

Treasures by Jayme, a local hemp jewelry company, will have a booth at the show. The bands will also have a merchandise booth in the ballroom to sell their CDs and other items.

Erickson said he hopes the show will provide a fun event in Grand Forks that can showcase some of the local talent.

"That's really the main reason to do it."

Johnson covers local music events and also runs a music blog at www.areavoices.com/valleysound . Reach him at (701) 780-1105; (800) 477-6572, ext. 105; or send e-mail to rjohnson@gfherald.com .