BEST NEW BAND 2012

Brushfire

Our voters had impeccable taste in choosing this intensely hot country band, as this summer the group finished first in a national contest judged by country music industry hot shots. After beating out some 300 other bands vying in the Battle for the Saddle, Brushfire performed at Nashville’s legendary nightclub the Wildhorse Saloon and wowed the place. Nice job IT readers! The band keeps busy playing some of the biggest and best venues around, including Country Thunder in Wisconsin and Chicago’s Country Music Festival and Joe’s Bar, plus the famous Spinnaker Beach Club in Panama City, Fla. They are no slouches when it comes to opening for the famous folk either, including the likes of Keith Urban, Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley, Big & Rich and many more. We’re happy to have Brushfire around for 2012 as best new band, but with a resume like that we wonder what category they’ll take in 2013. The other bands receiving a respectable number of votes include Leaving Ashland and Future Vintage. Runner-up: Big Daddy Jasper