Local acts unearth the hits at Night of the Living Cover Bands

Oct. 26—Come reawaken classic and modern hits this Halloween weekend at the Launchpad.

The venue will feature installments of its Night of the Living Cover Bands. The Friday, Oct. 28, and Saturday, Oct. 29 shows will mark the end of the annual event hosted by the Launchpad.

The artists covered on Friday include NWA, Thin Lizzy, Harry Styles, Flight of the Concords, My Chemical Romance and The Cramps. Saturday will provide the audience hits from New Order, Thee Oh Sees, The Strokes, No Doubt, Flyleaf and Willow.

Event coordinator Barry Lopez said one of the reasons he started working at the Launchpad was to help organize cover band shows, and he has seen this particular event grow since he joined the staff in 2012.

"It started as a one-night-only event, and they did it that way for a few years, and then it just got so popular they started adding more nights," he said. "Last year, we moved it up to three weekends, and this year, since October has four weekends, we made it four weekends."

Lopez said each Night of the Living Cover Bands has sold out this year already, and he expects more of the same this weekend.

"The last weekend usually has the strongest lineups of all, like really solid bands that have been doing it for a long time," he said.

Submissions from bands wanting to participate in the event have increased each year. Lopez puts out a call for bands around May, and each entry lists their first and second choice of band to cover, as well as which weekend they would prefer to perform.

After the selection process, Lopez then sets the lineups based on the music being played and also spreads out the bigger local acts to headline different nights.

There is no cap on how many bands can participate, but timing is everything. Lopez mentioned that he gets booked come September and has to finalize the schedule, but there's also a negotiating period to consider because oftentimes bands submit the same acts they hope to cover.

"We try to get everybody that we can with the spots that are available. This year, I'm pretty sure we got every band that requested to be in because we had 96 spots," he said. "We take open submissions, but ... I also try to be on top of all the local bands to let them know we're doing this."

Audiences aren't just privileged to the songs of popular artists, but the accompanying style as well. Lopez said bands "go all in" when it comes to live performances

"If they're willing to do costumes, we just try to encourage it because it makes a much more fun show," he said. "Late in the month it gets more people to show up in costume, even audience members."

Newly-formed bands will be taking the stage in addition to the popular acts around town.

Lopez said, "There's a lot of new local talent, so this is a really nice way to kind of see some of these bands that are on the scene that might be your next favorite band."

This Halloween weekend, help local talent unearth the musical spirits of past and present artists.

Night of the Living Cover Bands

WHEN: 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28, and Saturday, Oct. 29

WHERE: Launchpad, 618 Central Ave. SW

HOW MUCH: $8, plus fees, on holdmyticket.com; $12 at the door