Above: Bovina-based Esquela wins first prize at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Photo by Wendy Buerge, via Esquela's Facebook page.
Esquela, a rock band based in the Delaware County town of Bovina, took home a national title on Saturday: the best company band in the world.
The band won The PlayOff 2015, a battle-of-the-bands contest sponsored by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Inc. Media that pitted company bands from around the country against each other.
Half of Esquela's members work at Indiepay, a payroll processor for arts companies that has an office in Delhi. Band founder and bassist John Finn is Indiepay's CEO.
Esquela beat out over 200 other corporate bands from around the country in a regional qualifying event earlier this year.
On Saturday, Sept. 12, Esquela bested seven other finalists, including bands from GE and Mattel, onstage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland to win the contest, according to the band’s Facebook page.
According to an interview with John Finn in the Walton Reporter, getting to play at the Hall of Fame was already prize enough:
Finn chuckled when asked about the prize for winning The Playoffs in Cleveland. "I don't even know if there is a prize" he said.
As far as he is concerned, they have already won; they're playing at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
