This year’s Louisiana Music Prize will take place from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. Oct. 9 at Voodoo Cafe: An Art Bar in Shreveport.
The Music Prize will be in conjunction with the Louisiana Film Prize. The event will consist of five bands that will be evaluated by a panel of expert judges. The bands will play in the order of a preshow lottery, and will perform one 20-minute set for the competition.
“This is going to be a raucously amazing year for the Music Prize,” Gregory Kallenberg, executive director of the event, said. “Our goal has always been to make this event a world-class celebration of indie music. This year, we take another important step toward that goal.”
The Music Prize will have two sets of finalists performing this year. The first set of finalists will be the five bands playing the Music Prize’s “Locals Only” showcase at the Red River Revel on Oct. 4 with each of these bands will receive $500. The local band showcase will include Twang Darkly, Buddy Flett, Lance Thompson, Engine and Project of Love. The second set of finalists will play at the Music Prize, and each of the bands picked as a finalist will receive $250. The winning band of the Music Prize 2014 will receive a check for $5,000 and will also receive two days of recording and producing at Blade Studios with Brady Blade as their producer – a prize valued at $13,000. The finalists playing at the Music Prize include Lynn Drury from New Orleans, Static Scene from Washington D.C., Soul Track Mind, from Austin
This year, the judges were drawn from a pool of industry producers, technicians, and members of the music press. Chris Riemenschneider from the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Jerry Harrison from Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee band Talking Heads are set to help determine the $5,000 winner. Harrison’s film “Take Me To The River” will also screen Oct. 9 at the Robinson Film Center.
New to the Music Prize this year, the audience will have the opportunity to choose their favorite band, and help them walk away with some extra touring money. The Music Prize will sell $20 tokens, and the audience will have the opportunity to use them to fill the band’s Music Prize Tip Jars. The band will keep all the money in their jar and, if they raise the most money, the Music Prize will match the funds up to $1,000.
As part of their new affiliation with the National Recording Academy, the Louisiana Music Prize and Blade Studios are offering all musicians a free night of education, networking and feedback from their Music Prize gurus from 6 to 10 p.m. Oct. 8. Music Prize U is open to all musicians who want to learn more about making music and getting it out to their fans. The night is free, and there will be free beer, food and a cash bar available. Each person must RSVP to take part in Music Prize U.
As many of the Music Prize attendees will be attending the Louisiana Film Prize that weekend, the tickets to the Film Prize also include admission to the Music Prize, and, new this year, access to the Red River Revel. Tickets are $30 and are
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–Mandy Byrd
