The Nigerian Mvies

The Nigerian Mvies
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Sunday 23 March 2014

Local Band Tips: The Importance Of Playing Music Festivals

By Michael Fitzgerald


From major cities like Chicago and Austin, to places almost literally in the middle of nowhere, like a desert in Nevada or an unassuming campground in the Ohio Valley, music festivals on both a grand and not-so-grand scale have been popping up across the United States, especially over the past few years. But no matter where they take place though, these fests undoubtedly attract huge audiences of music lovers of all shapes and sizes- and offer an amazing opportunity for local bands to get noticed. Local groups lucky enough to get a spot on a music festival not only have the opportunity to perform for huge crowds of people, but they also have the chance to impress record labels and A&R reps from around the world.

When a group gets to play with a bunch of other bands and for lots of new fans, like on one of these music festivals, they have the opportunity to network with more people than they would on a regular local show. Music fests can also be a great opportunity for bands to sell more CDs, T-shirts, and other merchandise - the more merch they can push at a music fest, the more the people attending will take interest in the band as they see other concert goers wearing their T-shirts. For a band at a local level, a T-shirt with the band's name or logo on is the single most effective way for them to get their name out into their music scene.

As these music festivals gain popularity, and more and more cities host these events, more and more bands and musicians will be discovered as time goes on. There are already a number of success stories that start at music fests on both a national and local level. For example, at Gorilla Music's Cleveland Music Festival in 2011, the A&R representative who discovered Linkin Park - Jeff Blue - discovered guitarist Lance Dowdle. Jeff would later help Lance get signed to Atlantic records.

Playing on a show where a talent scout or label rep is in attendance is a great way for a group to get discovered quickly. Currently, Jeff Blue is again in search of undiscovered talent, this time by working with Gorilla Music to put on The Jeff Blue Contest Tour in cities all across the country, where bands will compete for a chance to go to Los Angeles and actually write and record a song with Jeff himself.

The Cleveland Music Festival and many other Gorilla Music festivals continue to be amazing opportunities for unknown or local bands to get noticed in their home market. Unlike many other music festivals out there today, Gorilla Music's festivals are designed to showcase the local talent as much as possible while still including National headliners in order to draw bigger crowds. This differs from many other house-hold name music fests which book 90% regional or national bands and leave very little chance for local bands to get much attention. Gorilla Music holds many music fests every year, the next one being The Dallas Music Festival, which is set to take place May 30th to June 1st at venues in and around the Deep Ellum area or Dallas.




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