The Waka Winter Classic travelled through the Midwest over the past few days, searching for more talented musicians to take the stage at this year's Wakarusa Music Festival, and three more bands won spots on the festival's stage. On Thursday, January 31, Captain Comfy punched their ticket to Wakarusa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. On Friday, February 1, Buddha's Groove Shoes won a spot in Springfield, Missouri.
The final spot on this leg of the Waka Winter Classic tour was up for grabs at Vaudeville Mews in Des Moines on Saturday, February 2. Four Iowa bands—Iowa City's Zeta June, Ames' Obsidian Dream and Old Road Riot, and Des Moines' Mighty Shady—took to the Mews stage to try to earn their spot at Wakarusa 2013. At the end of the night, it would be Mighty Shady who stood victorious.
Mighty Shady is an alternative band that has been making the rounds in Central Iowa's clubs for almost a year now. The band has shared the stage with Aquamarine Dream Machine, Roster McCabe, David Zollo and the Body Electric, It's Complicated, Dead Larry, and other Iowa bands, and their growing popularity in Central Iowa no doubt influenced bookers in choosing them to compete on Saturday. Mighty Shady won over the Vaudeville Mews crowd, and, in doing so, won a spot on a Wakarusa stage in a few months. Check out Chris Freier, Jared Murphy, Joel Schwichtenberg, and Matt Wilcox in action in the nearby video.
The 2013 Wakarusa Music Festival will be held May 30 through June 2 in Ozark, Arkansas. This year's festival will feature performances by Widespread Panic, The Black Crowes, Snoop Lion, Umphrey's McGee, Grouplove, Son Volt, and a host of other bands. For more information on the festival, check out the Wakarusa website.
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