A Christian Rock band, the Oswald Brothers Band, is coming to Ottawa this Saturday, brought to town by an unlikely source: 17-year-old Allie Eads.



�This is the first concert I�ve organized, yes,� Eads said. �I asked myself at the beginning of the year �what could I worry about for six months and then scramble around to figure out?��



The process of bringing the band, commonly known as OBB, to Ottawa started with an idea formed by Eads after attending a camp last summer.



�In September, I went to a camp in Joplin. The church there has a lot of community events, community involvement, and it inspired me to kind of bring that here,� she said. �One of the things I thought�how do we get more people involved with our church, and more community involved?��



Eads began looking at Christian rock bands to bring to the community, and learned that the process of securing an act isn�t easy, she said.



�I dealt with different record companies. I was looking into different bands before I was looking into OBB, [Others] were a little harder to get ahold of,� she said.



Finally, a family connection led Eads to OBB.



�My mom is really good friends with their mother, that�s how it ended up working out,� Eads said, adding she is familiar with the band�s act. �I met them at Winter Jam, at the Sprint Center. They came outside and started talking to us, we were the first in line and they were just there. I met them then, and then I met them at Braving [Ottawa University].�



Despite her connection through her mother, securing the band meant wading through layers of management, Eads said.



�They have a manager that manages their manager,� Eads said, laughing. �I had to talk to them to set up a meeting to talk to the actual manager.�



After the meetings came contract negotiation.



�They sent me a contract with the manager�s manager�s company, then I got a contract with the band,� she said. �So I had to sign both of those so their tour dates wouldn�t get in the way, and the venue wouldn�t be reserved.�



Due to a last minute venue plan change, reserving the Ottawa Municipal Auditorium, where the band is set to perform, became a stressful task, she said.



�We were originally going to have it at our church, but our church can only hold about 180 people. We wanted to see if we could get more than that, so we are having it at the OMA,� Eads said. �I was really nervous that the OMA was going to be taken up the weekend that I scheduled it. I scheduled [the band] a week before I scheduled the venue.�



The work did not end after securing the band and venue, Eads said.



�We�ve had to do some fund raising, and a lot of promotion with the community.� she said. �Making sure there are posters around town, and Facebook events.�



Eads has done much promotion herself, even calling area churches to get the word out.



�I called two churches that were outside of town, and so we�ve got some people coming from outside of town,� she said.



Support from her church, Grace Community Fellowship, has been instrumental in allowing the concert to come to fruition, Eads said.



�If I was looking at this a year ago, I definitely don�t think I�d be able to do it,� she said. �I�ve got a whole team of people behind me who have helped me, they are really excited for it.�



For those thinking of organizing their own event, Eads had practical advice.



�Always have your venue set before you make your plans. Always have your venue set, and at least have half the money you need raised before you undertake it all,� she said, adding the most satisfying aspect of the undertaking will be its culmination on Saturday.



�It will be rewarding on Saturday, to see people enjoying it,� she said.



The Oswald Brothers Band will play at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Ottawa Municipal Auditorium, 301 S Hickory St., with tickets available at the door or at the OMA Box office, Eads said.