Tonic 13 kicks off Friday with a free concert from 5 to 7 p.m. at The Hi-Fi.

In addition to special discounted $20 tickets to the November 21 Tonic Ball (only available in person during the party), three powerhouse Indy acts will cover this year’s featured artists – Velvet Underground/Lou Reed, Nirvana/Foo Fighters and Fleetwood Mac/Stevie Nicks. Two Tonic veterans, Brian Deer and Phyllis, and one newcomer band, Apache Dropout, are donating their time and talent to kick off this year’s Tonic 13 season.

We asked three guys who will be on the Hi-Fi’s stage why they’re involved as well as their favorite VU, Mac and Nirvana (and all subsequent acts). Find out what makes their Tonic hearts tick and turn up your volume to enjoy Tonic 13 megamix.