This weekend presents a fantastic opportunity for anyone who wants to learn more about local music, as the Riverfront Times Music Showcase will be taking over the University City Loop on Sunday. The event takes place throughout the entire neighborhood and showcases a diverse array of talent that will undoubtedly satisfy the curiosity of those who want to discover new music. All artists performing at the showcase have been nominated for the 2008 RFT Music Awards, which are currently being voted on by the public, and the festival is truly unique - every "category" for which the RFT gives an award is represented by five or six nominees, meaning you can camp out at one venue and see multiple artists from a given genre, or you can move throughout the Loop and mix and match. Music lovers can see all of their favorites and those who are looking to discover new bands can simply show up in the Loop, go anywhere, and see some great music. Sweet huh?
Personally, I'm looking forward to the main stage, which features performances by bands that have been nominated for the RFT's "Best Live Band" award (among others). The 1:00 am Halo Bar set by Dogtown All Stars looks like its going to be an epic party, but I don't know if I can hang that late on this particular Sunday. We shall see.
In anticipation of Sunday's showcase, I caught up with Annie Zaleski, RFT music editor and author of the RFT's fantastic "A to Z" blog, to ask her about the awards, the nomination process and this weekend's festivities....here's a piece of that conversation:
AJS: So what's going on this weekend?
Annie Z: The showcase is an all day local music festival in the Loop, at a variety of different venues both indoors and outdoors, it starts at 1:00 and the last band plays at the Delmar at 1:00, so its over twelve hours.
AJS: And how is this showcase related to the RFT Music Awards?
Annie Z: All of the artists playing the bands playing the showcase are RFT Award nominees. The voting is going on now - you can vote online and there's a link on our blog (vote HERE) and in the RFT this week there's also a ballot. Plus, there will be boxes at every venue in the Loop all day, you can just walk in and fill one out and we'll be counting them next week. The winners will be announced at a party on Tuesday, June 10th at The Pageant. You can RSVP at the RFT music blog and you must be on the RSVP list to go. The top-2 vote getting DJs and the top-3 vote getting bands will be performing at the actual awards ceremony.
AJS: Can you explain how these artists get nominated for the awards?
Annie Z: Basically, a couple of months ago I sent an email out to about 250 or 300 people in town - musicians, people at record stores, venues, music writers...and just asked their opinion about bands in towns that deserved to be nominated. After reviewing it I sat down and cobbled together the ballot.
AJS: What are the award categories this year?
Annie Z: There's a variety of genres, from rock and pop to alt-country. There’s a best live act category, a best album release on a label, a best release not a label, garage rock, hip hop, hip hop DJS, funk and soul, blues, jazz and others.
AJS: Anything in particular you're looking forward to?
Annie Z: I'm just looking forward to going down to the Loop all day, just hanging out and moving from band to band because there's always just really good vibes in the Loop - the atmosphere is very positive and everyone's in a good mood. Its very nice, everyone's kind of united.
Word. So without further ado, here's the complete schedule for the RFT Showcase on Sunday:
Main Stage – Outside Vintage Vinyl
2 p.m. Jon Hardy & the Public
3 p.m. Gentleman Auction House
4 p.m. So Many Dynamos
5 p.m. Vandalyzm
6 p.m. Victoria
Market in the Loop
2 p.m. Rum Drum Ramblers
3 p.m. The 75s
4 p.m. Wooden Kites
5 p.m. The Monads
Cicero's
6 p.m. Say Panther
7 p.m. Target Market
8 p.m. Jumbling Towers
9 p.m. The Bureau
10 p.m. The Hibernauts
Duck Room
1 p.m. The Livers
2 p.m. Heroes of the Kingdom
3 p.m. Shame Club
4 p.m. The Feed
Elvis Room
6 p.m. Midwest Avengers
7 p.m. Family Affair
8 p.m. Rockwell
9 p.m. Gotta Be Karim
10 p.m. Nite Owl
11 p.m. Earthworms
Brandt's
8 p.m. Commoners
9 p.m. Lamar Harris
10 p.m. Dub Kitchen
11 p.m. Dave Stone Trio
Pi
7 p.m. Wormwood Scrubs
8 p.m. Magnolia Summer
9 p.m. Grace Basement
10 p.m. Bad Folk
11 p.m. The Incurables
Delmar Lounge
8 p.m. Tom Hall
9 p.m. Sex Robots
10 p.m. Museum Mutters
11 p.m. Quief Quota
12 a.m. Bunnygrunt
1 a.m. Dogtown Allstars
Pin-Up Bowl
7 p.m. Needles
8 p.m. DJ Karizma
9 p.m. Flex Boogie
10 p.m. Crucial
11 p.m. Trackstar
12 a.m. Rob Gray
Halo
7 p.m. Cardiac Arrest
8 p.m. Humanoids
9 p.m. Blind Eyes
10 p.m. Left Arm
11 p.m. Trip Daddys
12 a.m. 7 Shot Screamers
Vintage Vinyl
6 p.m. Nerve Parade
7 p.m. Ded Bugs
8 p.m. .e
9 p.m. Theodore
This is a great day of music, no doubt. I'll be there at 2:00 ready to check out Jon Hardy and the Public..learn about it. I hope to see you there and have an awesome weekend, AJS.