The Boy Band Night return to CD&ME in Frankfort
Boy bands ranging from the Jackson 5 and New Kids on the Block to Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC and One Direction have drawn fans from the 1960s to the 2010s.
Hits from those groups and others such as Boyz II Men and the Jonas Brothers make up the repertoire of the Boy Band Night who perform July 1 at CD&ME as part of the Frankfort venue’s Thursday night concerts.
“CD&ME was our third show ever in 2015 so we’ve been there every year since,” said Glenn Hudy, a 16-year Chicago firefighter who cofounded the Boy Band Night with Kenny Braasch, who competed on Season 16 of “The Bachelorette,” which aired from October to December on ABC-TV (Channel 7).
“It’s a beautiful location and we have a heavy fan base in that area so people like going there. We always get excited about it because we enjoy being outdoors. We enjoy looking out at the people. It’s a beautiful venue. They’ve always been very good to us. It’s one of our favorites to go out to.”
Hudy and Braasch spent a year handpicking the Boy Band Night’s members before the group’s first performance in May 2015 at 115 Bourbon Street where Braasch is a talent buyer for the Merrionette Park entertainment complex, which features three large stages and a giant beer garden.
“At the time there was nobody that was just basically doing a tribute to the boy bands,” Hudy said.
“Ultimately we knew there was a market. When you have One Direction, you’re able to grab the 20-year-old audience. When you have Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC you grab the 30-year-old market and early 40s, and people in their 40s gravitate toward Boyz II Men and New Kids on the Block.
“We knew we had a range of demographics that would span three decades.”
The current Boy Band Night lineup is Hudy (bass and vocals) of Chicago’s Mount Greenwood community, Zach Duran (guitar) of Chicago, Brian Patrick (keyboards) of Chicago, Dave Ambrose (drums) of Burbank and vocalists James Lane of Oak Forest, Matt Marquardt of Burbank and Chris Servia of East Dundee.
“The thing I want to stress about our band, which is unique in what we’ve put forward from day one, is we’re a live band performing the songs. That’s what has set us apart since our inception,” Hudy said.
“We perform live and because of that it’s a different energy. The show can create a life of its own just because we’re feeding off the energy. At a moment’s notice if we wanted to extend the song longer we’re able to do that.
“I think that’s why people gravitate to us because they’re seeing our members playing instruments and singers singing three- or four-part harmonies.”
The Boy Band Night not only performs the music but also the moves, as in signature choreography from the hits’ music videos.
“The songs are timeless classics from that era,” said Hudy, who cited Bell Biv DeVoe’s 1990 debut single, “Poison,” as his favorite tune to play live.
“All the songs go over well but One Direction get really big reactions out of the crowd.”
In addition to playing in Chicagoland, the Boy Band Night has toured with their tribute act.
“We’ve traveled to Vegas, Canada, Texas and all the Midwest states,” Hudy said.
“We’re on a regular basis playing all these fairs and festivals and obviously especially during summertime we’re booked everywhere in this area but still getting out and playing Ohio and New York.
“We go into new markets all the time and sometimes we amaze ourselves at how many people come out. What I enjoy most about it is playing to big crowds at new venues, going to different cities and taking over the night at whatever venue it might be.”
In addition to managing the Boy Band Night via the Right Stuff Entertainment, Hudy and Braasch also work with several other tributes including newer acts such as 90’s Pop Nation featuring pop hits from the 1990s and Lolla featuring music by bands that have played the Lollapalooza festival.
American Pie (Americana then and now), the Country Night (new country and classic country hits), the Hair Band Night (1980s hair band bangers), Motown Nation (Motown and 1960s smashes), and the Ron Burgundy’s (yacht rock and other soft-core rock) also are managed by the Right Stuff Entertainment.