The event that Brantford had been eagerly anticipating took off with an impressive start as local bands hit the stage on Friday, June 4th. Although the weather was against them, the audience seemed oblivious as they rocked to some of the area’s biggest and best talent including In Ambush, Dry County, and The Joys who are certified gold in Canada.

For In Ambush, this was an opportunity to showcase their music as Barry Pett (guitar) said, “It was awesome, this is the biggest stage we’ve been on so it was really exciting to get out there and play.”

Lead singer of The Joys, Sarah Smith, felt the event was extremely well organized which allowed for a high energy performance from the bands, saying, “The show was amazing. It was a rainy Friday with a great audience who was really diggin’ the music. We can’t wait to do it again.”

Although In Ambush and The Joys were able to finish their entire set, other bands weren’t so lucky. As the night wore on, the weather worsened. Severe lightning and heavy rain forced the last band of the night, Dry County, to stop their performance to the dismay of the crowd.

For bands like In Ambush, events like Hockeyfest are a blessing. With their second album in the works, they know it’s important to get plenty of exposure to reach their goals. For Leigh Redfearn (bass) his dreams are small, saying that he hopes to “make a living off music.” Band members like Adam Pett (drums) are dreaming big saying, “I want In Ambush to be the biggest band in the world — that’d be really nice.”

Check out the links below for more information and listen to more of The Joys and In Ambush.

The Joys:
http://www.thejoys.ca/
http://www.myspace.com/thejoys

In Ambush:
http://www.myspace.com/inambush