Last year I (along with that assistance of Eternal Otter Records‘ Will Ethridge) coordinated a slew of festivities involving Maine musicians at the CMJ Music Marathon. This year we’re at it again, this time via the Portland Music Foundation. Read on for details on how your band can be part of the fun this October – take note of the perks offered by the PMF including transportation, financial help, and guidance to make the best of the opportunity.
Portland Music Foundation CMJ Showcase: Application Process Open
Portland/Maine bands are invited to apply for one of seven slots on NYC bill
PORTLAND-The Portland Music Foundation has announced that it will hold a Portland Music Showcase as part of the CMJ 2011 Music Marathon in New York City. The showcase will be October 20 at Sullivan Hall, known as a premier small concert venue with unmatched quality of sound and lighting for any comparably sized venue.
Bands that have recently played Sullivan Hall include: Asher Roth, Black Sheep, The Dirty Heads, The English Beat, EOTO, The Low Anthem, Marc Ribot, Matisyahu, Medeski Martin & Hunter, Mos Def, The New Mastersounds, ?uestlove, The Radiators, Warren Haynes, and many more.
The Portland Music Foundation will be paying for transportation and accommodations for seven bands to travel to New York City to play the showcase. In addition, the bands will be paid a stipend, receive press training and the PMF will pay for professional PR to promote the showcase to national press outlets. Finally, there will be a Portland Music Foundation party, with a live stream of the show fed back to a venue here in Portland, so that those who can’t make the trip can enjoy the show.
To be considered to play the Showcase, bands must submit an MP3 representative of their work (or a link to where music can immediately be heard), a band bio with links to their web presence (both social media and dedicated sites), and a band photograph to info@portlandmusicfoundation.org. All submissions received before September 9 will be considered by the PMF’s CMJ committee, which will choose bands for the showcase based on performance and songwriting, professionalism, and whether the band’s promotional materials and web presence make them ready for some kind of national attention.
Bands must be members of the Portland Music Foundation to be considered for the Showcase. Membership information can be found at www.portlandmusicfoundation.org/store/product/membership
The selected bands will be announced September 19 at the PMF’s next “Music as a Professional†educational workshop seminar, which will focus on booking out of town gigs.
Sullivan Hall holds roughly 350 people and is part of a larger CMJ festival that fills 80 venues with more than 1,300 bands over the course of five days. It is second only to SXSW in size and scope as a music festival in the United States. Bands playing CMJ have an opportunity to play for tastemakers and press people from around the country, as well as industry executives from all over the world.
Last year, Bryan Bruchman of Hillytown.com, in collaboration with Eternal Otter Records founder Will Ethridge, organized the first official Portland Showcase at CMJ, held at Trash Bar, in Brooklyn [Phoenix coverage]. They are excited to continue this new tradition with the support of the Portland Music Foundation.
For more information, contact info@portlandmusicfoundation.org
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