Michael Lackey. Tonight! 7:30 $5 Cover!

As has been the case too many times during the past three years, the LANDLORD and OWNERS of the Ridglea Theater have done it yet again!  We found out this morning that the complex is going into forclosure next month.  As far as Richard and I are concerned, the Ridglea Theater itself, the Premire Music Venue in Fort Worth, IS NOT GOING TO CLOSE!  We have a lease and we do not plan on going anywhere until we decide to retire!  We appreciate all the offers of doing a benefit from so many of you bands and fans, we deeply appreciate your loyality over the past 11 1/2 years and look forward to seeing you IN THE FUTURE for many GREAT shows!  Love to you all - Wesley and Richard

We are now on twitter. Are you?

http://www.twitter.com/ridgleatheater

Last Thursday was a very special open mic night. It was headlined by a first time ever acoustic set played by Deaf Angel. Even though it was just a warm up show for when they play our main stage on April 25th you would never know it. They kept everyone in the packed lounge on the edge of their seat as they explored new ways to dazzle the crowd.  It proved beyond a shadow of a doubt to everyone in the house that they are not only a killer band but talented musicians as well. After the main show was done the band stayed on stage for an impromptu jam session that had no shortage of laughs and applause.  I can't wait till they rock the big room April 25th. We look forward to seeing them and you there.

If you know any bands that would be great playing an acoustic set during our open mic then have them hit me up right here on Myspace. www.myspace.com/ridgleatheater See you next Thursday                                           -SuperLew

I just wanted to make a few things clear about Open Mic Night.  All artist will be given 15 minutes to perform. We have implemented a 5 minute set change between acts. The cover is $3 for everyone. We no longer allow full bands. Basically this means NO DRUMS ALLOWED. Even with a 5 minute set change we have found that drums slow the transition down and put us behind schedule. (Sorry Drummers) If you have a full band that wants to play we now have the Wed night auditions to give full bands a chance to play. Wed nights will be an open mic format but the bands will have to preregister. All types of acts are allowed on Thursday. Any genre of music, comedy, or poetry is welcome. Another major change is there is no more preregistration. Time slots are given on a first come first served basis. Sign up starts at 8 so come early if you want the best time slot. The last and biggest change is the show is now hosted by SuperLew or everyone's favorite bartender Caleb. With new interactive hosts expect to have more fun.   Thanks for your patience as we build open mic night to be the event that it deserves to be. Come out tonight and support local music in it's purest form.

SuperLew and The Ridglea Theater is currently booking for our Wed night auditions. The auditions are treated like a normal show. We will have 6 bands that each have 30 minutes to play. The bar will be open and it will be a good time for everyone. Do you think your band is ready for our mainstage? We know that there are a lot of great bands out there and we want to hear them. If you're ready we're currently booking for May 6th and 20th.

Don't forget every Thursday is Open Mic Night. Every artist gets 15 minutes to come out and do their thing. Every week we have a dozen comedians, singers, poets, and rappers take our stage. The cover is $3 for everyone and the bar is open. Sign up starts at 8 so come early and drink often. If you like being entertained I guarantee you a good time because there's a little something for everyone. Come support local music in it's purest form. If you have ANY musicians on your friends list please repost this so we can continue to bring you the best local music in The Metroplex. If you want to take our stage hit me up right here on myspace. www.myspace.com/ridgleatheater !                  -SuperLew

I just wanted to shout out to all the great artists that made Open Mic Night so awesome last night. It was good fun and good music. If you missed it last night I hope to see you next week.
Aaron & TC
Matt Webb
Daniel Rize
WHAT THE HELL!
Kat Dugan
That One Machine
Nakoa
Amanda
West Side Scrum
Kevin
Urby
Adrian Garza
Crystetta
Scott N
Reggie & Xavi
Timothy
As you can imagine there was a wide variety of acts. Next week will be awesome as usual. Come out and play and bring a friend to watch you next week.

Last night's Open Mic Night was the definition of amazing. Open Mic Nights are already known for the fact that no two are alike. Last night went above and beyond that. The acts varied like episode one of America's Got Talent. We had singers, bass players, some comedy, and even a rap artist. The energy was high and the lounge was packed.
The night was going perfect until a fire across the street caused the whole block to have a blackout. That's right, The Ridglea went pitch black. That would be enough to stop any party, right? Wrong! Everyone whipped out their cell phones and flashlights and the artist on stage played one of the best unplugged acoustic sets I have ever heard. When security lit about 50 candles everyone knew the party was far from over. With candlelight to set the mood and flashlights for spotlights three artist got up and played an acoustic fireside trio that would make any boyscout troop jealous. It was proof that if you love music you don't need bright lights and loud amps. (But they sure do make it fun) When the lights finally came back on I think everyone was actually disappointed.
If you were there I want to thank you for coming out and making my first night as host one to remember. If you missed it then I guess you'll have to come next week to see what happens. Thanks for listening. -SuperLew

Super Lew and The Ridglea Theater are looking for new acts for our venue. We feel that there are a lot of up and coming bands that are overlooked and we want to give you a shot. Starting next month we will be holding public auditions on Wednesday nights. We are looking for bands from all genres that can rock the house and draw a crowd. The cover will only be $5 dollars and guests will get to see at leat 8 bands for that price. If you want to play on our main stage hit me up right here on myspace. www. myspace.com/..ridgleatheater

I will be hosting Open Mic Night this Thursday night. Come out have some drinks and talk to me about your band. If you don't know who Super Lew is you might know me as the black staff guy with the dreadlocks. Open mic night is the perfect chance to come hang out and network with other musicians looking to put a band together. Each artist will be given 15 minutes to do your thing on stage. If you want to play an acoustic set or play the National Anthem with your armpits it's your time to shine. The stage is yours and the audience is listening. If you even have one musician on your friends list please repost this bulletin so everyone knows that we are looking for new acts.

Our beloved Roy, and dear friend to so many of you, Roy Velez, passed away Thursday evening, May 15th. He will be sorely missed by so many who knew and loved him. We all remember his kindness and caring about everything, even those small things, his love of laughter and of sharing jokes, his helpfulness and his joy of living. He loved the Ridglea and all of you bands who played there. Roy took delight in being the best sound guy he could be and cared about each of you, taking pride in working with you to make every show perfect! As one guy used to say "Bands write great music, Roy made it sound AWESOME!" ROY WAS SPECIAL! Roy was part of our Ridglea Family as so many of you are and we all miss him already. This past year he shared his home in the country with his dear wife and daughter, a horse and even a pot bellied pig which he got because his daughter wanted it. No surprise, Roy learned to love that pig too although he wasn't too thrilled initially. We are all richer because Roy was part of our lives.