Louisville Crashers rock the house at industry party

Jane Kitchen -- Kids Today, 10/16/2012 11:21:59 AM

The annual ABC Expo All Industry party got under way here at Fourth Street Live on Sunday evening, and local cover band the Louisville Crashers had thousands of Expo-goers singing and dancing in the blocked-off street.

Retailer Phil Wrzesinski and his harmonica joined the Louisville Crashers on stage.

Michigan retailer Phil Wrzesinski got his turn in the spotlight as he joined the Louisiville Crashers on stage with his harmonica — a big treat, both for him and for the audience.
"It was pretty much over-the-top," said ABC Chairman Larry Schur of the packed event.

Schur estimates that between 7,000 and 7,500 show-goers attended the event, an all-time high.

"People were loving it," said Schur. "I got a lot of comments of ‘Can we do this again tonight?' Everybody loved the networking opportunities — if they wanted a quiet area, they could go inside, or if they wanted to boogie, they could be outside."

Schur said the food options at the event were also popular - area Fourth Street restaurants offered free food and drinks to guests sporting their green ABC Expo wristbands.

But it was the band that really kept the energy up, as they entertained Expo attendees with classics from the 80s. The audience sang along to everything from Journey's "Don't Stop Believin' " to Guns & Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine," to Bryan Adams's "Summer of '69."

And when the 10:00 end time rolled around, Schur stepped up to the mike and convinced them to play for an extra 30 minutes.