Group Uses Harmony on "Next GAC Star"

One Night Rodeo is a finalist in the 2008 Next GAC Star competition. Visit the Next GAC Star page for more information about the competition and show times.

Sept. 3, 2008 — After three months of competition online, only six finalists remain from more than 1,000 entries in the contest to find The Next GAC Star. The winner will be chosen through two on-air specials — tonight and next Wednesday, Sept. 10 — and One Night Rodeo, the only group remaining, has its fingers crossed that it will come up victorious.

Hailing from Bradenton, Fla., the band has held together for the last 13 years while all four members — Duane Allison, Mike Elrod, Cory Hildreth and Jack Tamburin — worked day jobs to keep their families afloat. With that kind of dedication, they’re optimistic that their experience helped them connect to the music fans who voted them into the finals.

"I think they really like the songwriting and the vocals, the harmonies," Jack told the national radio show GAC Nights: Live From Nashville. "We’re all about having vocals like Alabama and the Eagles, classic bands like that, and I think they saw it. Definitely."

One Night Rodeo and the other five finalists — J.C. Andersen, Tyler Barham, Megan Conner, Angela Engelman and Lane Turner — will have to win over a large TV viewership, not to mention a studio audience that includes three well-credentialed judges. Jack Ingram is the best known of the trio, which also includes Victoria Shaw, who co-wrote Garth Brooks’ "The River" and John Michael Montgomery’s "I Love The Way You Love Me"; and Desmond Child, who’s written Aerosmith’s "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)" and Bon Jovi’s "Livin’ On A Prayer."

The winner of The Next GAC Star will receive a recording contract with Original Signal Records. This week’s competition gets underway Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET.