The Pontiac / Jimmy Kimmel Show Best Unsigned Band Contest just ended. Out of the 1,000 plus entries, two of the finalists were bands with roots in Shady Grove Church, Grand Prairie, Texas. The DFW metroplex has churned out two great talented bands: Radiant and The Barons.
This year belonged to Radiant. The band received word just a few days ago that they were the winners of the contest and would be flying out to New York City for a week. “Excited” does not begin to express the response.
Levi Smith (lead singer/guitarist), Daniel Hopkins (drummer), Dragan Jakovljevic (guitarist), and Jon Schoemaker (bass/keys) will first play on the Friday morning for The Early Show on CBS. The band was originally scheduled to play for The Early Show on Saturday, but memorial coverage for President Gerald Ford took precedence.
Rumor has it that Radiant is also slated to play on Fox and Friends sometime during their stay in New York, though an exact date and time has not yet been announced.
Perhaps the most fun for the band will be opening for My Chemical Romance and P.O.D. on New Year’s Eve in Times Square. The Jimmy Kimmel show will tape Radiant and play part of their performance during a Jimmy Kimmel Show within the next seven days.
CultureFeast attempted to get an interview with Radiant last year, but we just couldn’t seem to get the guys in one place. After Radiant returns to Dallas / Fort Worth, we’re going to work on them one by one if necessary to get that interview. There will be plenty to talk about to be certain.
Updates on Radiant’s schedule will be posted as they are made available.