A music-filled Christmas party and silent auction were held at The Vogue. All proceeds benefited the 2005 Midwest Music Summit, a non-profit organization that promotes independent musicians.

The 2005 Midwest Music Summit will be held July 21, 22 and 23. It will coincide with the NAMM (International Music Products Association) Summer Session Convention to be held in this year in Indianapolis, after outgrowing the Nashville, TN facilities. "This partnership with NAMM is a natural fit with our event, which showcases the growing local music scene in Indianapolis as well as the Midwest," said Josh Baker, organizer of the Midwest Music Summit. "We can't wait to show all the NAMM Summer Session attendees a fantastic time this July." The Midwest Music Summit plans to have 250 bands throughout Broad Ripple Village and Downtown. NAMM expects 20,000 attendees to the downtown music equipment convention.

The evening started with the silent auction. A wide variety of items had been donated, such as advertising packages, hot air balloon rides, Chicago and Brown County get-away weekends, restaurant gift certificates, and an autographed Lenny Kravitz guitar.

Sponsors for the party included InTake Weekly, 92.3 WTTS, Indy.org, Henry Street Trading Co., Oranje, Ergo Office Furniture, Indy's Music Channel, IndianapolisMusic.net, and the Indianapolis Cultural Development Commission. Food was provided by Yats Cajun Restaurant.

Musicians performed all night long. The first scheduled performance was MMS Songwriters in the Round featuring Tim Jones, David Moore, Jennie De Voe, Cameron McGill, and Richard Edwards. Each songwriter performed a song on acoustic guitar, often with another songwriter joining in on guitar or harmonica. These performers were fantastic and would have been worth coming to see by themselves, but this was only the start of the music.

Following the Songwriters in the Round were four bands: Cameron McGill, Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band, America Owns the Moon, and The Pieces. During the Songwriters in the Round I had to leave to "put the paper to bed" (that is newspaper talk, I think). After the layout was uploaded to the printer, I returned to The Vogue in time to catch The Pieces. Luckily Gazette photographer Bob Schmidt was on hand to capture the action during my absence.

The Pieces - Devon Ashley on drums, Vess Ruhtenberg on guitar, and Heidi Gluck on bass - rocked The Vogue until midnight. The crowd cheered for more volume with each song until the floor pounded with each flick of Heidi's finger on the bass. It was a powerful end to a great evening.

We will keep our readers informed as details are released on the Midwest Music Summit, and we will do our best to cover the event. We may need the help of several volunteer photographers and music lovers.