Indianapolis is My Home

24
Jun

Jon McLaughlin Performing "Perfect" at Colts Fan Fest

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Concerts, Downtown, Indianapolis Colts, Local Musicians

Here’s a video of Jon McLaughlin performing "Perfect" as his opening song at the Indianapolis Colts Fan Fest event in Indianapolis this past Friday.

I’m not sure what happened to the audio a little ways in. We were right in front of the speakers, wonder if my camera’s mic couldn’t handle it?

Hmmmm

20
Jun

Indianapolis Colts Fan Fest TONIGHT!

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Concerts, Downtown, Indianapolis Colts, Indy Pro Athletes, Local Musicians, Things To Do in Indy

If you want to meet some Colts players and cheerleaders and get their autographs you’ll want to be at the Indianapolis Colts FanFest event tonight. Jon McLaughlin will be performing as well. Great opportunity to hear him perform for free.

Here are the details:

The Colts Fan Fest will be in Indianapolis, Indiana on Friday, June 20th.

Location:
Downtown American Legion Mall
700 North Pennsylvania Street
Indianapolis, IN 46206
5:30pm - 7:30pm
Autograph session with Colts Players, Cheerleaders and Blue
7:30pm
Free Jon McLaughlin Concert

Fan Fest Elements include:
-Make It Personal with Colts players
-Meet Colts Cheerleaders
-FREE community concert by Jon McLaughlin
-Visit Blue the official team mascot
-"Colts City" inflatables
-Bring a new or gently used children’s book for "Books for Youth"
-Register for the Colts Kids Club
-Register to win tickets to a Colts pre-season game
-Pick-up free Colts giveaways
-Check out the re-designed Colts In Motion

Special notes:
The Colts would like to encourage all fans to arrive early.  The line for player and cheerleader autographs may be cut off at any time to ensure the players schedule remains on time.  Inclement weather or traffic may cause late arrival or early departure.  All Fan Fests will take place rain or shine.  Team practice schedule and meeting times may cause players to arrive late or depart early. Colts player names will not be announced prior to the arrival in each city.  Fans will be allowed one autograph per person, however, fans may get back in line for additional autographs.  All Colts Fan Fest times are local.

Stay tuned to www.Colts.com/FanFest for an up-to-date listing of locations.

13
Jun

The Bean Cup - It’s a Must!

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Business Entrepreneurs, Coffee Shops, Greenwood, Local Artists, Local Businesses, Local Musicians, South Side, Things To Do in Indy

After hearing about The Bean Cup a couple of different times from fellow Indianapolis blogger, Douglas Karr, I decided the next time I worked remotely I’d stop by for a visit.

I stopped in this afternoon to get some work done and try out their version of my favorite drink, a chai tea latte. I little darker than my favorite at my other remote office location (I feel dirty, like I’m cheating on my friends there).

I got to meet the two owners, Chris and Jason Carr. A great couple and seem to totally love what they’re doing with running The Bean Cup. The initiating factor to our conversation was that I thought it was cool they they run a place called "The Bean Cup" and their names are Chris and Jason. If you haven’t noticed yet, my name is Jason and my brother’s name is Chris and our last name is "Bean".

The other very interesting thing I learned today was about Douglas Karr, who’s affectionately referred to as "Norm" at The Bean Cup. Himself, Jason Carr and two other individuals and The Bean Cup, was recently featured in BusinessWeek. The group is competing in the Cisco I-Prize competition. Really cool!

The opening paragraph of the article lays everything out beautifully:

The Bean Cup, a coffee house on the southern edge of Indianapolis, is about as far as you get from Silicon Valley, culturally speaking. Shoehorned between an Arthur Murray Dance studio and a shuttered beauty salon in a nondescript strip mall, the Bean Cup bears faint resemblance to the storied Palo Alto work-play spaces where coders spend all night building what they hope will be the next big thing in tech. That’s not stopping Douglas Karr, a bearded, burly Gulf War vet, from using the Bean Cup to incubate his own big tech dreams.

Later on that afternoon I had an iced white-chocolate blackberry latte ( I think that’s what it was) that was delicious as well. The atmosphere is great, they seem to have a very diverse client base so I think everyone would be happy here if you love great coffees and tea and more.

Similarly to The Strange Brew they also feature artistic works from local artists which you can buy right off the wall if you find something you like. The only challenge I noticed was the same challenge I find with every location offering free wi-fi, FAR TOO FEW POWER PLUG ACCESS!!! The Carrs said they’ll be working on that soon so they will be no reason to not go visit and get some work done of your own.

All in all the final score is that the south side of Indianapolis has two great options for locally owned coffee shops where local artists (both artistic and music) can showcase their talents as well as connect with the community around us.

If you’re on the south side of Indy around the Greenwood Mall, stop by The Bean Cup and get your java fix there. If you’re further south, stop on by The Strange Brew. If you’re a regular customer of one already, give the other a try and spread the love. Don’t worry, St. Arbuck’s will get along without you and these local business owners will be more than happy to serve you some great coffee.

11
Jun

Indianapolis Hard Rock Revamping and Ready to Rock

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Chain Restaurants, Concerts, Downtown, Local Musicians

Okay, I’ve got to make sure I attend this concert. I’m thinking I should get there early enough to at least be in the room for this concert. I’ve become a huge fan of Jon McLaughlin since I’ve been introduced to him and purchased his CD.

Anyone else planning on going?

15
May

Jon McLaughlin Performing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway This Weekend

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Concerts, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indy 500, Local Musicians, Things To Do in Indy

One of the musicians and artists I’ve been enjoying lately, since purchasing his album, is Jon McLaughlin. I just read that he’ll be performing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend at 3pm. Tickets at the gate are $10.

Click here for a list of other events on the schedule at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Jon is a great singer and does some great piano playing. You can see his talent by clicking on the link below for him performing "Industry" from his latest album "Indiana".

An Anderson, IN native and Anderson School of Music graduate, I think he’s definitely someone we can be proud of by calling Indiana home.

YouTube Video of Jon performing "Industry"

29
Dec

Bryan Meyers - Local Musician Spotlight

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Local Musicians

One of the goals I have with this website is to use it as a platform for spotlight local artists and musicians.

I’d like to spotlight a friend of mine tonight, hey I can do that right? His name is Bryan Meyers and he’s always working on some project or another. He’s currently playing in at least 2 different groups which is keeping him extremely busy.

Bryan is a percussionist and that’s how I’ve gotten to know him. He plays drums in our church band every now and then and does an excellent job. Our church band is fabulous but obviously isn’t the place that really lets Bryan’s talent shine.

Visit his website and go checkout what he’s up to in the area with his groups. One of them is Ashworth who just released their second album. On Bryan’s website you can stream his music while you’re browsing and get a feel for his style and talent.

www.bryanmeyers.com

18
Dec

12 Days of Christmas by IU’s Straight No Chaser group

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Colleges, Education, Humor, Local Musicians

06
Sep

It’s BLUE Thursday

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Celebrities, Downtown, Indianapolis Colts, Indy Pro Athletes, Local Musicians, News, RCA Dome, Special Events, Things To Do in Indy

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past year. It’s NFL kick-off time and the reigning world champions are none other than the Indianapolis Colts.

Today is officially Blue Thursday and there’s lots of events on the schedule today. Of course there’s the NFL kick-off concert and party that will be at Monument Circle downtown. The festivities start off with the group Hinder at 5:15pm, the inaugural American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson at 6:00pm and country music singer Faith Hill at 7:00pm.

For you Colts fans, if you haven’t heard, St. Vincent Children’s Hospital is now called Peyton Manning’s Children Hospital at St. Vincent. That name change was announced yesterday, I’m sure the NFL will probably pick-up on that bit of news during tonight’s game.

Indiana native John Cougar Mellencamp will be performing in the RCA Dome before the game as well and Keyshia Cole will be singing the National Anthem.

If you’re not into the Colts but want to do something downtown, you can join a group of protesters in Pan Am Plaza complaining about the Indiana property tax situation.

If you’re not into any of that stuff, you might be interested in Big Brother 8, it’s eviction night tonight!

09
Aug

Anderson Highland Wins Band Day

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Awards & Recognition, High Schools, Indiana State Fair Grounds, Local Musicians, Things To Do in Indy

As a follow-up to my previous post about the Indiana State Fair, Anderson Highland high school wins the Band Day competition at the fair last night for marching.

Congratulations to the kids who suffered through the heat of the day itself, but also all the long hours of work and practice to achieve this result.

I spent 7 years in my high school marching band. No, I’m not stupid enough that it took me 7 years, I just had the opportunity to start marching in the band when I was in 6th grade and did it all through high school.

My closest claim to fame is that our high school was chosen to participate in the 200th centennial celebration for the state of Kentucky as well as representing the state of Kentucky in D.C. for the 4th of July parade. That day the temperature on the street was above 100 degrees and we were feeling it for sure.

Congrats again to Anderson Highland band and a specific shout-out to the trumpets!