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Thursday, February 29, 2024
Trees Dallas
Over $47K fundraised

Overall Winner, Judges’ Choice Award, and Hustle & Heart Award : Just South of Nowhere for Genesis Women’s Shelter & Support with legal talent from Baker Botts.

Thank you for the welcome, Dallas! Our Inaugural Law Rocks Dallas was such a success, and we couldn’t have done it without the enthusiasm from this great city. Last night down in Deep Ellum four amazing bands competed for the first ever Dallas Law Rocks crown, raising over $47k for local nonprofits in the process.

The night kicked off with special guest band JOÉL, who opened the show with a cover of “Heaven” by Los Lonely Boys that set spirits high from the start. The band’s choice of upbeat bops like “Valerie” had the crowd dancing and singing along, but it was their spot-on rendition of “Purple Rain” that brought the house down with an epic guitar solo.

Next up, Suburban Crime Spree came out hot with early 2000’s crowd-pleasing classics like ”Take Me Out” by Franz Ferdinand, “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” by Jet, and a “Killer” rendition of “Smile Like You Mean It”. One of the audience members remarked that it was one of the best live covers of The Killers they’d heard in a while, and we have to agree.

Bryan Adam Joyner and Hard Country took the stage next, true to their name with a set dead center at the intersection of country and classic rock. From Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” and Bad Company’s “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” their set truly rocked, with talent to back it up. We loved the band’s original song “Thank You for Leaving Me,” which captivated the audience with its soulful groove and raw emotion.

Next up, Just South of Nowhere awed the crowd with their balanced harmonies and the unique sounds of mandolin and steel guitar. Their Chris Stapleton cover was truly smooth as “Tennessee Whisky,” and the band’s original song “81 Miles From Memphis” showcased their signature sound and skill. Their hard work paid off as the band took home the title of Overall Winner, the Judges’ Choice Award, and the Hustle & Heart Award at the end of the night.

The final band of the night, Ring the Bell Nunnally, kept the crowd on their toes with a wide-ranging set list that proved their skilled versatility. The band had a great time putting the funk in “Play That Funky Music” before rewinding back to the ‘90s with Smashing Pumpkins classic “Today.” We were shocked and awed by their epic performance of “Arms Wide Open” by Creed— what a throwback! It was a great set to end the competition.

We couldn’t have hoped for a better night for our inaugural Dallas show. All of the bands rocked and brought so much talent and charisma to the stage, it was truly a night to remember and we can’t wait to come back!

Law Rocks wouldn't exist without the support of all the bands and firms - major thanks to every participating band! Thanks also to the terrific Trees Dallas team; the Rock Panel of Judges: Rodney Dittmar; Frankie Leonie; Almir Lucević; Tre Nagella; and Eva Raggio; our host Kiven Roberson; and our nonprofit guests. The evening was made possible thanks to our tour sponsor Secretariat; Platinum sponsors Akin; Baker Botts; Bell Nunnally; Deans Stepp Law; and the additional generous sponsors who helped make the night possible. Endless thanks to all of you!

This show was so special to us, as it was our first show of our 2024 season and our first time in Dallas! We are grateful to all the bands for welcoming us to their city and for making the show their own.

Thank you for making our Inaugural Dallas event such a blast! We’ll see you next year…

Please consider making a contribution to support Law Rocks World Tour and ensure we keep rocking the globe for years to come!

Featured

Special Performance by JOÉL

Featuring legal talent from Scheef & Stone
Rocking for The Concilio

JOÉL is a vibrant side project of young lawyer and lifelong musician Joel Hernandez. This charity concert will be the band’s first show of, hopefully, many in Dallas now that its front man has made the pilgrimage up I-35.

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Bryan Adam Joyner and Hard Country

Featuring legal talent from Deans Stepp Law
Rocking for Murphy Firefighters Association

Bryan Adam Joyner and Hard Country have infused Texas, Red Dirt, and Outlaw Country with the riffs and power chords from their hard rock backgrounds. They have been known to forge metal into country standards from time to time, and classic/southern rock ties it all together. Hard working dads with day jobs, their main objective is to have some fun and bring the audience along for the ride. The band has been playing in and around North Texas for 15 years, playing an equal mix of cover tunes and originals. Singer/Song-writer Bryan Adam Joyner also performs acoustic gigs and hosts open mics.

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Just South of Nowhere

Featuring legal talent from Baker Botts
Rocking for Genesis Women’s Shelter & Support

Just South of Nowhere is a high energy Dallas-based band that just loves to play Texas music. Harmonies, guitars, mandolin, steel... you will hear all of that when you come out and enjoy a night with us.

We'll play covers from the likes of Robert Earl Keen, Chris Stapleton, and Tyler Childers (ok, those guys are from Kentucky, but they sure sound like they could be from Texas!) And we'll even play you some of our original Texas music (but don't worry - not too much).

We can't wait to show you what we're all about and spend a great night for a great cause!

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Ring The Bell Nunnally

Featuring legal talent from Bell Nunnally
Rocking for Austin Street Center

Long-time Bell Nunnally litigators Ben Riemer and John Fugitt thrive in the courtroom when stakes are high, as well as on the stage and in the rock and roll arena.

Suburban Crime Spree

Featuring legal talent from Akin
Rocking for Booker T. Washington Advisory Board

Suburban Crime Spree is an East Dallas band that plays a range of 1990s and 2000s Alternative Rock favorites, with occasional classic rock, alt country, and funk thrown in the mix. SCS is comprised of Scott Barnard (vocals and guitar), Steve Haglund (guitar and keys), Frank Waterhouse (guitar and vocals), Sean Gaffney (guitar and vocals), Chris Moseley (bass, harmonica, and vocals), and Mark Ruibal (keeping the band honest, on Drums).

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Law Rocks is thrilled to be extending our Music Matters grant into 2024! This grant, established in 2023, is presented in each of our US tour cities to benefit a local organization that supports music education. The first Music Matters grant we’re awarding in 2024 is also our first Dallas recipient - the Dallas chapter of Music Will! Music Will is a nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming lives by transforming music education. Click through to read our blog about Music Will, including an interview with Music Will CEO, Mike Wasserman.

We are proud the Inaugural Law Rocks Dallas 2024 bands raised funds for the following organizations.

Featured

Host - Kiven Roberson

Kiven T. Roberson Sr., serves as the CEO of Beloved Community Center. He is a native of South Dallas, growing up in the Frazier Court Housing Projects. He has an extensive background in the insurance industry along with bringing financial literacy and housing stability to the Low to Moderate Income (LMI) community. He loves the law and has a great respect for those who work in the field. His appreciation of the law is connected to his understanding of the impacts it has on the non-profit sector and the (LMI) community. His undergraduate and graduate educational credentials come from two (2) different, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). He earned a B.A. at Huston-Tillotson in 1995 and a M.S. from Texas Southern University in 2003. His is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. He has recently taken up playing the drums.

Judge - Rodney Dittmar

Rodney Dittmar is currently in his 28th year of teaching music, and his 25th year in Seagoville and Dallas ISD. He was the first classroom teacher of Guitar Ensemble and Modern Band in Dallas ISD and is in his 24th year of teaching Modern Band. He is also the Fine Arts Department Head at Seagoville High School, and a Music Will Regional Program Ambassador.

Judge - Frankie Leonie

Frankie Leonie effortlessly weaves between the ethereal realms of dreamy pop and the heartfelt melodies of soft country. Writing since a young age, Frankie has a way of speaking directly to the soul. Since her debut single, “Johnny Cash,” in 2018, Frankie’s musical evolution has been steady and impressive, but she has remained true to her unique and quietly powerful voice.

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Judge - Almir Lucević

Almir is a Senior Associate Managing Clerk at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP located in Dallas, TX, with almost 20 years of experience in litigation. For most of his career, he was based in New York City where he was actively involved in various cultural projects. He is co-founder of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival and has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Academy of Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2006.

Almir is a lifelong music enthusiast. He attended classical music school for 6 years and has been playing guitar since childhood. His interests include diverse genres spanning from classical music to rock, folk, flamenco, and jazz. Almir was a member of several rock bands over the years, and has also performed as soloist in various events in New York and internationally.

Judge - Tre Nagella

Tre is a four-time Grammy award winning studio engineer, record mixer and music producer. He has logged time with a wide variety of multi-platinum artists, including Lady Gaga, Kirk Franklin, Blake Shelton, Snoop Dogg, Ed Sheeran and Travis Scott to name just a few. He has written, produced, and played on hundreds of pieces of commercial music for clients such as Samsung, Apple, Ford, and Dairy Queen.

He is the co-owner of Luminous Sound Studios, a world-class recording studio and audio facility in Dallas, and the co-founder of record label Luminous Music. Tre is an active member of The Recording Academy (Grammy's) and served as a Governor for ten years donating his time and energy to help progress the state of the music industry in Texas and across the country.

Judge - Eva Raggio

Eva Raggio is the music and culture editor for the Dallas Observer. For over a decade, she has covered art of all kinds and written about subjects from local music to pop culture for publications such as D Magazine, Playboy and Nylon.