In the Spotlight
During the holidays
many companies,
organizations, and
individuals host a
variety of holiday
events featuring
a wide variety
of entertainment.
For this fall-winter
issue of EventPro, we
sent veteran entertainer
and writer
Laurie Mattson
out to showcase
Northland entertainers!
The Showtime Band
It’s show time! A familiar phrase for those of us in
the entertainment game, and for this local variety
band it is a very suitable name.
The Showtime Band has been performing together for
three years, and consists of Ed Gallagher on drums,
Todd Gault on bass/vocals, Brad Nelson on lead
guitar/vocals, and Leyla Atketin (formerly Lindsey
Johnson) as lead vocalist/percussion.
Atketin has been active in the music industry from
a very young age. She is currently lead vocalist and
percussionist with The Showtime Band. She has
performed at the Duluth Playhouse, and is a past
member of the Duluth-Superior Symphony Chorus.
She was the lead vocalist of the Jukebox Band for
eight years, and recorded the DTA jingle, “Ride the
Bus” which has aired for the past 23 years! Atketin
writes and records original music, with the song
“Frozen in Love” being performed by her and The
Showtime Band.
Ed Gallagher has been on the music scene for quite
some time. The Main Event at Charlie’s Club in
West Duluth, and the Loading Zone at Frankenstein’s
in Superior are two of the many groups he has played
with. He is a self described “experienced, simple,
solid dance drummer.” This former teacher at Superior
High School has been banging on the drums since his
sister bought him a drum set as a boy. Gallagher
remembers Showtime’s first gig at VIP Pizza in
Superior, on Sunday nights, and how things took off
after playing there for a while. They have been booked
solid ever since.
Karen Gallagher, married to Ed, is the band’s booking agent/manager, and met Ed when he was in the
house band, Main Event, at Charlie’s Club. She wears
many hats to keep this well-oiled music machine
going. Putting in a good 15-20 hours a ݕ