Gig Alert: Gig Alert - Shiner Rising Star Competition Tonight At Love and War in Texas Grapevine

Shiner Bock beer has become a bit of a cliché in the realm of Texas country. For a while, it seemed as though all Pat Green had to do was to simply throw the name of the Lone Star legend into a verse and the song would rocket to regional hit-dom.

The thing is, 'round these parts, the little brewery in Shiner has practically become synonymous with all that is good about the Dallas-area country scene. The many sunburned patrons who have hoisted a few Shiner Blondes at the weekly Shiner Sunday at Love & War in Plano can attest that Shiner beer plus top-notch regional talent indeed equals a hell of a time.

Now adding to that gloriously drunken legacy is the Shiner Rising Star competition. Over the past few years, the annual event has helped many great names, including Darryl Lee Rush and Somebody's Darling, gain a higher notoriety than before their victories.

A while back, in the print edition, we featured the stories of a few quality area artists who are very thankful for the opportunities afforded them, thanks to their triumph in the multi-week contest sponsored by  KHYI 95.3 FM and Shiner Bock beer. Beginning last week, and continuing well into the humid depths of summer, country bands from all over North Texas will battle each other for a recording contract, and more importantly, a big push that will help them land in iPods all over the country, hopefully.

It just so happens that yours truly will be one of the judges for this week's round, along with one of the great DJs in town, Brett Dillon of KHYI, and Amber Farris, leader of 2008 Rising Star champ Somebody's Darling. Come out and join us, won't you? It all goes down at the Grapevine location of Love & War in Texas beginning at 7:30 pm tonight. The three bands performing this week include: Chasing Grayson, Keller Hicks and the Big Benders.