ANNOUNCMENT OF THE 2012 ROAD TO MEMPHIS GATHERING
FOR BLUES MUSIC - SOLO/DUO ACTS AND BANDS
Sunday, April 22, 2012 @ Venue TBA
2012 Road To Memphis Applications Are No Longer Being Accepted
All Available Slots Have Been Filled
The Minnesota Blues Society is sponsoring a solo/duo act and a band to compete in the International Blues Challenge (IBC) in Memphis in February 2013.
- The competition will be limited to the first 10 contestants who make their application. There will be five slots available for Solo/Duo and five slots available for Bands. (If either category does not fill-up, the remaining slots will be available to applicants from the other category.)
- We are happy to announce that the Solo/Duo & the Band winners of the 2012 Road To Memphis will be given the opportunity to perform at the August 2012 Bayfront Blues Festival, in Duluth.
We will hold our Road to Memphis Challenge on Sunday, April 22, 2012, at a Twin Cities venue T.B.A. and judges will select the band and the solo/duo act our society will sponsor. You can enter as a solo/duo act even if you enter as a member of a band, BUT you can only advance to the IBC under one category. Each entry must have a separate application form. If you think you would like to sign-up for the Road to Memphis Challenge, please fill out the application form. The following lists qualifications to compete in the Road to Memphis Challenge:
- Individuals are not permitted to compete if their names have ever been included on a Blues Music Award (formerly Handy Awards) ballot. This does not apply to sidemen of these individuals. See the Blues Foundation website for more details at www.blues.org.
- Eligibility to compete in our Society's Road to Memphis Challenge requires at least one musician from each band/act be a member of the Minnesota Blues Society. We have membership forms on this website under "Join MnBS".
- You must be a professional musician(s) or band from the State of Minnesota to compete. For this purpose, professional musician is defined as a musician who has been booked and paid to play at established music venues.
- We ask that applicants be capable, both physically and financially, of travel to Memphis for the purpose of competing in the 2013 IBC. If you place at the IBC, we ask that you are dedicated to representing our Society at IBC sponsored functions.
- Each application must include the application fee. The fee is $5.00 for each musician in your act. All application fees will be dedicated to the Get Out of Town Fund for travel-related costs for those selected to compete in the IBC. The fee is tax-deductible.
- We require all musical acts to arrive at the beginning of the Road to Memphis event on Sunday, April 22, 2012. Start time is the same for everyone and we will draw straws for order of performance. We ask that the musicians support one another.
- Applications must be postmarked (or submitted online) with membership and/or fee enclosed no later than Thursday, March 15, 2012, midnight.
- Competitors will be asked to provide a brief bio along with a photo prior to the Road To Memphis competition. We will send details once you have completed registration.
Our Society does not have funds available to assist the band with IBC-associated costs but we will cooperate with you to help raise funds by sponsoring "Get Out of Town" fundraisers. It is the musician's responsibility to set up the fundraiser's gigs and let the society know the dates and venues for GOOT fundraisers.
Our Mission Statement: The Minnesota Blues Society seeks opportunities to research and document the history of local blues music; to chart the evolution of the blues community located in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota; to teach, interpret, archive, catalog and otherwise preserve the history of blues music in this metro region; to provide learning opportunities related to this American-roots music genre; and to enhance and celebrate the existing blues music environment in the Greater Twin Cities Metropolitan Area of the State of Minnesota.
Please pass along this information to other musicians who may not be on our email list and let them know they can be on our musicians email list for the asking.
Questions? Contact Jim Pinckney:
(1/15/12)
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page last updated:
Sunday, January 29, 2012
