Cary dad will rock stage as opening act for Bon Jovi
CARY, North Carolina (WTVD) -- A Cary dad will be rocking the stage in Detroit on Wednesday as the opening act for Jon Bon Jovi.
Chris Phillips and his IAMDYNAMITE bandmate, Chris Martin, will open to a crowd of several thousand Wednesday night inside Detroit's Joe Louis Arena.
Phillips, who drove to Michigan with his wife and three children as soon as they tracked out of school last Friday, talked with ABC11 via FaceTime.
Only two weeks ago, he got the call that his band was selected from more than 100 others trying to win a video contest to open for the iconic rock band, Bon Jovi.
Phillips said concert promoter Live Nation selected the top 10 entries and then Jon Bon Jovi himself picked the video of their song "Where Will We Go," as the winner.
"They wanted to see certain specific things," he said. "They wanted to see your personality, how you're going to be with the fans and any live footage, so that video fit the bill for that submission."
Phillips and Martin are both originally from Michigan; the duo have been friends and bandmates since high school. They formed IAMDYNAMITE in 2012 and even though they live far apart, they've toured together playing hundreds of showed over the years.
Phillips said while they've opened for big names before, winning this coveted spot validates everything they've been trying to do.
"Even if you're not a Bon Jovi fan you know who he is," said Phillips. Someone who is an icon is basically like, hey, this band is cool and they're doing something cool and I like it. It's just recognition from someone higher up in the music industry that's like oh, these guys are cool and that to us is just- that's awesome. That'll be something cool to put on your resume someday."
Phillips has lived in Cary for the last eight years, but having grown up in the Detroit area attending Red Wings games at The Joe, he says he's excited to be back in Michigan, playing in front of a hometown crowd.
