The Morgan Leigh Band Wins Bank of the West Celebrates America Opening Band Contest

OMAHA, Neb., June 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Morgan Leigh Band has won the chance of a lifetime: opening a concert featuring Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo plus Loverboy and performing before thousands of people at the Bank of the West Celebrates America concert. Bands from across the country competed in the annual Bank of the West Celebrates America Opening Band Contest on Facebook for the chance to perform at the June 28 concert at Memorial Park in Omaha, Neb.

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The Morgan Leigh Band is a pop/country group based in San Marcos, Calif. The band is led by Morgan Leigh, who was among the top 50 female singers on American Idol season 12. In 2011, Leigh began songwriting with fellow singer-songwriter, Paul Coughlin, and assembled other talented musicians to round out The Morgan Leigh Band:  Lindsay Nydegger on lead guitar, John Alexander on drums and Dave Garcia on bass. They began touring Southern California in the summer of 2012, playing shows at The House of Blues, San Diego County Fair, The Ruby Room, Jimmy Loves and many other notable venues and fairs.

"Thanks so much to all our fans who voted every day for us," Leigh said. "You will never know how much we appreciate your support. We are so excited to open the Bank of the West Celebrates America concert with Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, and we can't wait to join everybody out in Omaha."

"We are pleased with the nationwide participation in our Bank of the West Celebrates America Opening Band Contest. It was a really close competition. We were impressed with the caliber of the talented musicians, and we thank them for participating. We also thank everyone who recommended their favorite band and voted on Facebook," said Robert Dalrymple, Executive Vice President, Bank of the West's Midwest Division. "We are excited to have The Morgan Leigh Band open the show at Bank of the West Celebrates America, one of the largest free outdoor concerts in the West."

The Morgan Leigh Band won the Bank of the West Celebrates America Opening Band Contest by receiving the most votes in the contest held on Facebook. Bands from coast to coast entered the Facebook contest. A panel of judges, which included music and talent representatives from Creative Artists Agency, Warner Atlantic Records and Romeo Entertainment Group, narrowed the band entries to five finalists. The public was invited to vote for their favorite finalist on the Bank of the West Facebook page May 28-June 9.

Bank of the West Celebrates America is a 23-year Omaha tradition and officially kicks off the city's July Fourth festivities.

About Bank of the West:
Founded in 1874, $62 billion-asset Bank of the West (www.bankofthewest.com) Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender, offers a full range of personal, commercial, wealth management and international banking services. The bank operates more than 600 retail and commercial banking locations in 19 Western and Midwestern states including 39 in Nebraska and 23 in the Omaha metropolitan area. Bank of the West is a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, which has a presence in 80 countries with nearly 200,000 employees.

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SOURCE Bank of the West