MACOMB, Illinois — Four bands from the area are coming together to put on a rock show to benefit St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.
Bass guitarist for “The Hong Kong Sleepover,” Waylon Brown, said 2019 marks the second year for this show. He, along with the band’s lead vocalist, Ted Renner, have been the primary organizers.
Local sponsors have chipped in to make this night a possibility through a GoFund Me. An initial $1,500 raised through that campaign was used for the show setup. Additional funds and the show’s $5 cover will all go to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.
The show is set to be performed on Saturday, December 14th at “The Forum,” located at 124 N Lafayette St. in Macomb. The show goes from 7 p.m. – midnight. Kids at the show need to have a guardian present.
The Hong Kong Sleepover‘s Renner and Brown are joined by two other band members, Pete Thompson on guitar and Mike Kump on drums; both of which contribute to the band’s vocal needs. The guys have played together for 12 years, creating three full-length albums and one EP.
Brown boiled The Hong Kong Sleepover’s genre down to heavy metal and rock, but says they’ve put a spin on it. In the band’s music videos, Miller Highlife is a prominent asset, which led to a re-invention of their genre.
“Because of all that we’ve self-dubbed ourselves as beer metal, or beer rock,” he said. “We don’t take ourselves too seriously. We’re not setting out to be one of the biggest and best mainstream bands you’ve ever seen, we’re just real guys, real music and trying to give everyone in the crowd the best experience possible.”
To put it simply, Brown says the band is “just four dudes being four dudes and at the end of it you get The Hong Kong Sleepover.”
The Hong Kong Sleepover hails from Macomb, and has played in big cities like Chicago and Indianapolis and recently signed with a management team.
Click here to listen
Here’s a little about the other bands playing at the show:
As Big As A Mouse is a Quad City alternative, hard rock band. The band has been together since 2010 and has three members: Eric Davidson on vocals and guitar, Brandon Loveless on bass, and Eric Sparks on percussion.
Click here to listen
Northbrook is a hard rock band from Davenport. The band was established in 2017 and has five members: Billy Hudson on vocals, Luke Sears on vocals and guitar, Steve Merritt on vocals and drums Nickle Bambauer on bass and Michael Gustafson on guitar.
Click here to listen
Formerly the Fox is a Canton, Illinois-based band that’s been playing psychedelic indie rock since 2012. This four-piece is made up of Gage Walljasper on vocals and guitar, Tim Garber on guitar, keys, and vocals, Wyatt Mulligan on bass and Parker Rose on drums.
Click here to listen
