Ottawa

Through high school friendships, two Craig's List ads (Musicians Wanted, not Missed Connections), and a few years of trial and error, OTTAWA was born on Cleveland's west side in the winter of 2014.

Since then, lead singer Dale DeLong, guitarists Will Hooper and Tim Czajka, drummer Steve Crobar and bassist Chris Williams have developed a sound described by Cleveland Plain Dealer reporter Troy Smith as "a brand of garage pop that merges elements of indie-rock, blues and new wave that's quite melodic and hypnotizing."

That unique sound is a result of the band's diverse influences, including The Killers, Oasis, Fleetwood Mac, The Velvet Underground, and even 90s pop groups.

According to DeLong, good music "stops you in your tracks and paralyzes you for a moment," and the band's debut EP, "Random Lights," released in December 2014, is a collection of songs that do just that. Throughout the EP, Ottawa's dynamic sound shifts from the adrenaline-pumping "The Good Kind," to the contemplative "Lie to Me," and has been hailed as "one of the best debut albums of 2014." In 2015, "Tempo" was featured on the premiere of the Food Network's "Top 5 Restaurants," and tracks from Random Lights have appeared on the Bravo show "Flipping Out" throughout its seventh season.

Judie Vegh of Midwest Action also praised the EP and Ottawa exclaiming that, ”Every now and then a band is born with the creative potential to thrive and succeed in the music industry...Random Lights proves that this band is just getting started on their path to success. Ottawa is certainly a random light that shines ever so brightly among all the others."

Ottawa took to the road in the summer of 2015 to promote their latest single, "Roman Candle." The Roman Candle Tour included stops in Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and other major cities throughout the northeast. The band is currently working on their sophomore EP, to be released in 2017.