Stone River, which also includes guitarist Jeff Desilets, bassist Jay Macedo, drummer Tommy Brown and vocalist Renan Yildizdogan, opened for American blues band, The Black Crowes.
The experience was a great one for a bunch of young guys.
"Honestly, it felt like something out of a Walt Disney movie," said Flower, 25. "It went much better than I expected. The rush of like 10,000 people applauding for you made everything worth it."
During its 40-minute set, the band played six songs off its debut album, In the Valley of the Butterflies. Stone River also rocked the crowd with a cover of Jumpin' Jack Flash.
The guys were pumped about seeing The Black Crowes perform live.
"I think this is like the fourth time I've seen them and they just get better and better," said Flower, who will bring his band to Burlington this Friday to play the Artist Walk. "We didn't have a chance to hang out with them, but Renan shook (lead singer) Chris Robinson's hand and some of the guys took in a bit of our set."
Band members were shocked to be selected from among 300 others to be the opening act.
"When I found out the news, I had to sit down because it was so much to take all at once," said Flower. "This is the biggest thing we've done and hopefully it's the first of many."
Stone River formed four years ago, but Flower and Desilets have been playing together for about 11 years after meeting at Iona Secondary School. The band is often compared to the group it opened for on Friday.
"From day one, people have been saying we sound like The Black Crowes," said Flower. "People always pick that band first. It's cool, but we never told ourselves we were going to be the Canadian version of them."
Several tracks, including Southern Feeling, Cold Black River and Can't Help Loving Her, can be heard at www.myspace.com/stoneriver.
Stone River performs Aug. 7 at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto.
cclay@mississauga.net
