Rock Lottery is one of Denton’s favorite annual events, and it is likewise a long-time favorite for Little Guys Movers. The 20th edition of Denton’s Rock Lottery is taking place this year on November 4th, and we have many reasons to be excited about it.
Rock Lottery Supports Local Artists
One reason is because Little Guys Movers is a proud and long-standing sponsorship partner in the event, which originated in Denton in 1997. Since that first edition, Rock Lottery has raised over $62,000 for local charities. This year’s Rock Lottery will benefit the Denton Music and Arts Collaborative, which provides healthcare subsidies to local musicians and artists, and KUZU 92.9FM, a local nonprofit community-led, low-power FM radio station.
Movers Are Musicians, Too
Another reason we are excited is because, over the years, various Little Guys have been participants in Rock Lottery, including Rock Lottery’s originator, former Little Guy Chris Weber, as well as Chief Operations Officer Eric Eisenmann, who is appearing this year alongside 24 other alumni from Rock Lottery events in years past.
We Know a Thing about Orchestrating Harmony from Chaos
One of the best things about Rock Lottery is the concept itself, which is deceptively simple: at 10:00 AM on Rock Lottery day, 25 musicians meet at famed local bar and music venue, Dan’s Silverleaf, and, through a lottery-based chance selection, are organized into five bands with five members each. The bands then go to rehearsal spaces across the city and have roughly twelve hours to create a three-to-five song set. Each band is limited to one cover song, so most of the songs are original. The bands return to Dan’s by 10 PM and play their sets, and all proceeds go to charity.
This Year’s Special Rules
Because the musicians are drawn from a pool of local bands and performers, the randomized bands often end up representing multiple genres, performance styles, and artistic backgrounds. In normal years, the five drummers invited to participate are separated so that each band is certain to have one percussionist. In special years (like this year’s 20th edition), the drummers are randomized too. The resulting bands, setlists, and performances are always entertaining, and often unbelievably great, considering the conditions under which the bands are formed and songs are written.
This year doesn’t just feature special rules: the pool of performers are drawn from musicians who are all Rock Lottery alumni. This 20th iteration honors the roots of Rock Lottery in Denton, Texas and reaches deep into decades of creativity and collaboration to stage what is certainly to be a very special event for a good cause.
We Love to Rock
Little Guys Movers is proud to sponsor Rock Lottery, both in terms of direct financial sponsorship as well as with some logistics: a Little Guys truck will be used as a staging area for musical gear, and Little Guys Movers’ national headquarter building will feature as one of the rehearsal spaces on November 4. Little Guys are regularly in attendance for the event — Eric has never missed a Rock Lottery — and excitement for this year’s edition has mounted over the last few weeks as the returning cast of all-star musicians has been announced. Tickets are now on sale, and this is a limited capacity event, so get yours before they’re all gone 🤘