The Bluegrass Music Association of Maine is proud to sponsor the band contest at this year’s inaugural Crooked River Gathering.
We’re aiming to have between 6-8 bands perform during the contest. Bands can be established groups, friends who love picking together, or thrown-together outfits that want to put their hat in the ring—basically, any ensemble that wants to assemble! While many festival band contests focus on competition, our band contest is focused on fun. Let’s have a great time listening to and cheering on each band!
Read on for contest details, rules and more. To sign up, please reach out to Taylor Smith at tsmith@mainebluegrass.org.
Where: The contest will take place on Stage Too! at the Crooked River Gathering.
When: Thursday, Aug. 28 at 7pm, following the Main Stage shows.
Contest Rules:
- Bands need to have between 2-6 members.
- All members must be ticketed attendees of the Crooked River Gathering.
- Each band can play 2-3 songs, with a total time of 15 minutes per band (including getting set on the stage).
- The Crooked River Gathering is all about bluegrass and old-time music. Please keep your song selection in the spirit of those genres!
- The stage setup will include one large condenser mic, two outboard directional mics, and a DI/backline for bass. Please leave your pedal boards, special mics and in-ear monitors behind so we can keep the contest moving smoothly!
- A panel of judges will evaluate the bands on three criteria:
- Instrumental and vocal performance
- Stage presence
- Audience appreciation
Come on out and take part in what we hope will be the first of many BMAM-sponsored band contests at the Crooked River Gathering! To sign up or get more information, please reach out to Taylor Smith at tsmith@mainebluegrass.org.