Over 12,000 bands entered for a chance
to win an opportunity of a lifetime.

Only one was left standing: The Carnabys survived three rounds of voting, battling it out on the live stage and securing thousands of votes online to make the Top 25 in Hard Rock Rising 2013 – THE global battle of the bands contest held by Hard Rock Cafe in exclusive partnership with ReverbNation.

Chosen as the grand-prize winner by a panel of music industry experts, The Carnabys secured a spot on the bill at the Hard Rock Calling festival in London as part of a WORLD TOUR. “This year we saw some really high-level competitors and with such an amazing prize on the line, the scoring process for all of us on the judging panel was more difficult than ever before,” said John Kirkpatrick, Hard Rock International’s Head of Music & Artist Relations.

“Ultimately it was The Carnabys who stood out because of their songwriting, musicianship and performance level. We look forward to welcoming them to our Hard Rock stages!”

In addition to sharing the stage with Bruce Springsteen, The Black Crowes, Zac Brown Band and Alabama Shakes, The Carnabys won tons of new band gear, earned the opportunity to make an album and video with Hard Rock Records, and are lined up to go on a World Tour with stops in amazing cities such as Sydney, Chicago, Tokyo, and Honolulu. Now that’s rock star treatment.

Let’s not forget about this year’s two runner ups: Bop Skizzum and Sunwill! With $10,000 worth of new band gear and their music exposed to new fans around the world, they’re certainly not going home empty-handed. Check ‘em out here:

Bop Skizzum (Denver, Colorado)

Sunwill (Moscow, Russia)

A huge congratulations to these talented and well-deserving bands!

See what’s on tap this week at ReverbNation!

Open for Saving Abel on the Rock4Revival Tour

Genre(s): Alternative, Metal, Rock and Punk
Location: Online

Are you in a metal band that wants a spot on a national U.S. tour? Submit for a chance to perform an opening set for Saving Abel, Art of Dying and Blacklite District on the Rock4Revival Tour! In addition to playing, you’ll be featured on all applicable online, in print and radio advertisements, as well as any social media promotion. Proceeds from the Rock4Revival tour will be donated to the Mercury One Foundation, a charity organization that provides funding for disaster relief efforts in the United States.

Bang your head for a great cause! Submit now >

Rock the Hard Rock Entertainment Stage during CMA Music Fest 2013

Genre(s): Country
Location: Nashville, TN

Country artists and fans flock to the streets of Downtown Nashville during the annual CMA Music Festival. Now in its 42nd year, the four-day country music extravaganza has attracted patrons from all 50 states and 24 countries. RenegadeRadioNashville.com will be selecting one ReverbNation artist to rock the Hard Rock Entertainment stage during this year’s festival. The winner will also snag a 30-minute meet and greet with fans at the Renegade Radio Nashville tent. All submissions will be considered for airplay on RRN’s New Faces segment, beginning in June 2013. Superstars like Taylor Swift, Zac Brown Band, Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley will all be heading to Music City, USA this year to perform at country’s biggest party!

Don’t miss your chance to join the fun in Nashville this summer, submit today! >

Don’t want to miss out on upcoming opportunities?

Here are four ways you can stay up-to-date on our latest gigs. We recommend using all of them to ensure nothing gets missed! Stalk us, we don’t mind. >

• Follow our updates on Twitter (@ReverbNation or @Gigs) and Facebook
• Check the email updates we send you
• Check the latest Opportunities on this page
• Go to your Control Room on your Reverb page > click “Opportunities”

Wondering who submits to all those opportunities you see in your email inbox every week? And what happens after submissions close? Our monthly Breaking Artists newsletter, along with this nice, shiny blog post, breaks it down and shows you some of the opportunity winners.

Take a look and a listen, show your support for your fellow musicians and send them kudos in the comments.

Breaking Artists are selected by Reverb staff from opportunity winners. Increase your chances of being one of them by submitting to opportunities here >>

Performed at DIG SOUTH Interactive Festival 2013…

Folk artist Amythyst Kiah of Johnson City, Tennessee.

Amythyst Kiah is a powerhouse vocalist who draws on both traditional roots and contemporary music to produce her unique, soulful yet modern sound. This month, Amythyst played the ReverbNation Expo Stage at the 2013 DIG SOUTH festival. More than 2,500 guests came to the festival in Charleston, SC for “a two-day mashup of the Southeast’s finest creative industries.”

“This is my first win, and I almost couldn’t believe it. This was my second big gig outside of my region (the first was in D.C. at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival).
The DIG SOUTH show went well. [I] had a great sound engineer named Phil and a very warm audience, and had a great time on my first trip to the low country!”
-Amythyst Kiah

Shooting a music video with Springwood Productions…

Country artist Kelsey K.

Kelsey K has had quite a bit of success recently. Her song Country Mess was nominated for Best Country Song for the 12th annual Independent Music Awards, she raised $6,950 via a Kickstarter campaign to produce her full-length original album Blue Jean Girl, and she just signed her first production/co-publishing deal with Vision AD Nashville in March of 2013. Oh, and did we mention she’s 13 years old? To add to her growing list of accomplishments, Kelsey won the Springwood Productions’ Expose Yourself 2012 competition through a ReverbNation opportunity and will be flying out to Baltimore to shoot the music video for her original song The One in May. She also secured a spot at the Summerfest music festival in Milwaukee, WI on July 26.

“I feel so blessed to have this opportunity to make a music video for my song The One, perform at Summerfest in Milwaukee, and be featured on ReverbNation. I was really surprised and excited to be chosen!! It was such an honor to be selected by Springwood Productions(…) out of over 6,000 entries. All of the artists in the contest are really talented so it was an honor to be among them.”
-Kelsey K

Played at Dodger Stadium during the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure…

Los Angeles-based Savannah Lynne.

This month, we have the pleasure of featuring not one, but two young emerging country artists. 14-year-old Savannah Lynne, hailing from the West Coast, beat out almost 1,300 other artists to secure a performance slot at a competition during the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure at Dodger Stadium. The event was judged by members of Earth Wind & Fire, Train, and 98 Degrees. She also received a $1,000 gift card to MusiciansFriend.com, the event’s co-sponsor.

Won the Show Me the Music Songwriting Contest 2012…

Singer songwriter Morgan Taylor Reid.

Los Angeles-based Morgan Taylor Reid won the $10,000 grand prize in the 2012 “Show Me The Music” Songwriting Contest. Founder Al Lopez created the contest to open doors for independent musicians in an industry where few opportunities exist. Listen to the song that won it all for Morgan, Stay Where You Are, in the player below.

“I’m so happy to have won the ‘Show Me The Music’ Songwriting Contest because it’s such a pleasant reminder that there are still people out there who appreciate music from independent artists like me. I’m so very grateful for the prize money because it will give me the time and resources to finally put out a full-length ‘Morgan Taylor Reid’ solo album, which I hope to release by the end of the year. And more importantly, I’m so appreciative that there is a contest out there that acknowledges songwriters. It gives me the motivation to keep pushing on, and creating the ‘art’ in an industry that sometimes can feel like it’s all about the ‘business’.”
-Morgan Taylor Reid

Performed at New Noise Music Festival…

Indian Trading Furs of Santa Barbara, CA.

Folk band Indian Trading Furs got the opportunity to play the New Noise Music Festival in Santa Barbara, CA. The non-profit event lasted four days and brought together established and up-and-coming musicians with industry experts to collaborate, foster connections, and discuss the future of the music industry and the role technology will play.

“ReverbNation has been a very useful tool, especially in the beginning stages of the band. Much of our networking and contacts were through ReverbNation (….)
We work hard as a band to promote ourselves the best we can without paying out of our pockets. This can be hard. A festival means that there will be many new eyes on our band we couldn’t have hoped to reach or been able to look for without spending some hard-earned cash. The experience was really rewarding and we as music lovers got to play alongside and be in the crowd for many bands/artists who we love and admire. Overall a great experience!
-Indian Trading Furs

More Winners: Kelly Road, Trey Hawkins Band

Kelly Road won the Thunder on the Mountain throw-down for the Fayetteville, AR market and will play at the official festival in June.

Trey Hawkins Band won the Thunder on the Mountain throw-down for the Little Rock, AR market and will play at the official festival in June.

Congrats to all of April’s Breaking Artists!

Don’t want to miss out on the next opportunity?

There are four ways you can use to stay up-to-date on the latest gigs (we recommend using all of them to ensure nothing gets missed!):

• Follow our updates on Twitter (@Gigs and @ReverbNation) and Facebook
• Check the email updates we send you
• Check the latest Opportunities on this page
• Go to your Control Room on your Reverb page > click “Opportunities”

So, where’s your next gig?

In this guest post, Kayla Calloway gives independent and up-and-coming hip-hop artists tips on how to effectively prepare a mixtape release.

Whether you are prepping for your first mixtape or this is your next go round, here are 5 tips for preparing for a successful mixtape release excerpted from “The Essential Guide to Hip-Hop Marketing & Publicity.” So in the words of Trinidad James “Lemme give you a checklist:”

1. Choose a DJ

When starting out, especially if it’s your first mixtape, choose a DJ who is on the come-up as well and who truly believes in your music. Or you can go the latest route used by emerging Atlanta hip-hop artist, Rich Homie Quan, and host your own mixtape.

2. Find a Studio

Find a studio that you are comfortable recording in, and once you have blocked time, make sure that you come prepared. Write your rhymes at home and be ready to go when you arrive to the studio.

3. Mix

Have your mixtape cleaned up and mixed by a professional engineer who knows what he is doing. Make sure that the sound is clear and crisp and that the sound levels are balanced throughout your mixtape.

4. Hire a Graphic Artist

When hiring a graphic artist for your mixtape cover, you need to make sure they understand your music and brand and that they can bring your ideas to life or that they can bring forth their own creative cover ideas that will represent you and your mixtape effectively. So, with that being said, here are three tips to consider when hiring a mixtape cover graphic artist:

• Versatility: When selecting a graphic artist, make sure that they are versatile, creative, and have a range of design skills, because you want someone who can convey your individuality and the themes and messages of your music, not someone who has a one-size-fits-all approach to designing mixtape covers.
• Track Record: Request to see work they’ve done in the past. Additionally, when you’re hiring for services, such as PR, marketing, or website design, check track records as well.
• Professionalism: I know that the hip-hop industry can be a little casual, but business is business. Make sure you have a timeline for the work and ask that the graphic artist is being consistent with you and communicating effectively with you throughout the process.

5. Use Social Media to Gear Up for Your Mixtape Release

• Engage: Follow other hip-hop artists, both up-and-coming and established, who have similar fan bases and followers. Additionally, follow DJs and other hip-hop influencers, such as hip-hop editors, bloggers, etc. Keep track of who’s mentioning you.
• Get Fans to Promote for You: Constantly engage with your fans and include them on your journey. For example, you can ask fans for feedback regarding the title of your mixtape, which track to promote, mixtape cover art, etc. Join their conversations; don’t just always flood them with links pertaining to your music.
• Plan: Plan a content strategy so you do not get distracted from the bottom line.

This list covers the basics. However, I would like to also mention the importance of working to build your fan base prior to releasing your mixtape. For more hip-hop marketing and publicity tips, visit kaylacalloway.com. Got any questions for me? Leave a comment below!

All the best with your mixtape release!

Kayla Calloway is a hip-hop enthusiast with over 5 years of PR experience, with specific concentrations in media relations and writing. Kayla has a strong rapport within the hip-hop editorial community and is the author of “The Essential Guide to Hip-Hop Marketing & Publicity”. She has secured media placements in XXL, The Source, Allhiphop.com, Creative Loafing, AJC and more. Kayla can be reached on Twitter and Facebook.

Life’s easier when you’re in sync.

No, not N’ Sync, although JT and the gang have it pretty good too. We’re talking the set-it-and-forget-it variety. Update once and let the magic of computer automation do its thing. At ReverbNation, we take this concept to heart. Update your songs and photos on your ReverbNation page, for instance, and they show up effortlessly on Facebook, your website, your Mobile App, your FanReach emails and more.

Introducing Show Schedule Sync 

With just a couple of easy steps, you can now get your ReverbNation show onto your personal calendar (Google, Yahoo, iCal, Outlook, more). Once setup, your new shows and show edits on ReverbNation will be synced to your personal calendar without ever having to update it. Additionally, you’ll get a link to pass onto fans so they always know when and where you’re playing (and can set reminders in their preferred calendaring service!).

It’s simple to setup and get started. You can find this new feature in the Shows > Show Schedule area of your Dashboard. Click the “Sync Schedule” button.

**Please note that Show Schedule Sync will not import shows from your personal calendar. We suggest keeping your ReverbNation Show Schedule up-to-date and using this feature – in combination with our dynamic HTML5 Show Schedule widget and ‘Upcoming Shows’ Facebook app – to populate your schedule everywhere else on the web.

Let us know how this new feature works for you in the comments below. And thanks for being a part of the ‘Nation!

See what’s on tap this week at ReverbNation!

Play Germany’s largest club festival, Reeperbahn Festival

Genre(s): Alternative, Electronica, Folk, Hip Hop, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Indie, Singer Songwriter, Punk and Experimental
Location: Hamburg, DE

Get ready to pack your bags and say “hallo” to Hamburg! Reeperbahn Festival, Germany’s largest club festival, is looking for talented acts to join a line-up of over 300 hand-selected international artists. Over 2,800 industry professionals and 25,000 festival attendees will travel from more than 35 countries to take part in the four-day music and arts extravaganza on the Reeperbahn, the center of Hamburg’s nightlife.

Reeperbahn Festival represents one of the three most important industry platforms in Europe and serves as an indicator of the current international musical culture and music industry. With over 400 events in 70 different venues, Reeperbahn features an exciting array of showcases, parties, presentations and networking events for music lovers, avid festival goers and industry professionals alike.

Ready to take the international stage? >

Perform for an international audience at The Jubilee in New Glasgow

The Sheepdogs

Genre(s): Alternative, Electronica, Pop, Rock and Punk
Location: New Glasgow, NS, CA

The distinctive setting on the New Glasgow riverfront and outdoor amphitheater make The Jubilee one of the most engaging and exciting music experiences of its kind. Rock, blues, folk, and the best East Coast music make up the event’s wonderfully eclectic line-up. Original and impressive with a true commitment to quality, the Jubilee is an event with a flavor all its own.

With several Music Nova Scotia Awards and ECMA nominations it’s safe to say The Jubilee has officially earned its chops. Past Jubilee headliners include Big Wreck, Classified, Joel Plaskett Emergency, Big Sugar, The Trews, Blue Rodeo, Sloan, Wintersleep, and Kim Mitchell. The 2013 Jubilee lineup will include headliners Great Big Sea, Matt Mays and The Sheepdogs plus many, many more!

Don’t let this rockin’ riverfront gig float by. >

Score a gig with the Carolina Railhawks

Genre(s): Alternative, Blues, Country, DJ, Folk, Hip Hop, Jazz, Latin, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock, Americana, Bluegrass, Dance, Indie, Rap, World, Electronic Dance Music and Rockabilly
Location: Cary, NC

Would your band get a kick out of playing for a professional soccer team and its fans? You’re in luck! The Carolina Railhawks are looking for the best regional talent to perform at their pre-game and post-game parties! Perform for players and fans alike at the pre-game Tailgate parties or the hoppin’ post-game parties on the North Party Deck.

The Carolina RailHawks were established in 2006 and began play in 2007. The team reached the US Open Cup semifinals in its inaugural season. The RailHawks were a founding member of the North American Soccer League (NASL) and play their home matches at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, NC, a 10,000 capacity stadium which is considered to be one of the finest soccer-specific stadiums in the USA.

Is your band ready to kick-off the party? Submit your RPK today. >

Don’t want to miss out on upcoming opportunities?

Here are four ways you can stay up-to-date on our latest gigs. We recommend using all of them to ensure nothing gets missed! Stalk us, we don’t mind. >

• Follow our updates on Twitter (@ReverbNation or @Gigs) and Facebook
• Check the email updates we send you
• Check the latest Opportunities on this page
• Go to your Control Room on your Reverb page > click “Opportunities”

This blog post is part of the bi-weekly series highlighting the Music For Good charities and their spotlight artists (read others here). Subscribe to our blog (enter your email on the right) to get a new blog post every other week!

SEE ALSO: What is Music For Good and how do I get involved?

Love Hope Strength Foundation co-founders and leukemia survivors James Chippendale and Mike Peters talked to us about their cancer charity.

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When James Chippendale, a wealthy and otherwise very healthy 31-year-old Dallas entrepreneur, got diagnosed with leukemia in 2000, he was dumbfounded. Like most people, he had little to no information about it. “I knew it was cancer and that’s about it,” James told us in a phone interview. “I didn’t know what the treatments were nor did I know my chances of survival.”

Once he knew more about it, James focused solely on finding the best doctors and a bone marrow donor who could save his life. “That was the only chance I had of survival. No drugs, no medicines, nothing else besides a donor could save me,” he said. And a donor he found — but it wasn’t easy. There was nothing for him in the United States so he had to go on the international registry, where they found that a man’s marrow 5,000 miles away in Germany was a perfect match (read the whole story in this moving article on New York Times). As of today, James is cancer free.

This experience prompted James to unite forces with fellow leukemia survivor, Mike Peters (of popular Welsh alternative rock band of the 1980s, The Alarm), to start the Love Hope Strength Foundation (LHS). LHS is a music-based charity whose goals are to reveal the ongoing success of cancer survivors, build a support network for cancer patients worldwide, fight for great research, fund and develop innovative music related outreach and awareness programs.

Over the last five years, they’ve added over 30.000 donors to the bone marrow donor registry that have resulted on over 575 matches for people around the globe.

James and Mike have a heart-to-heart just before climbing to the top pof Kala Pattar for the world record highest concert on earth. Photo: Jake Norton/MountainWorld

We talked on the phone with James and Mike (who was in the middle of a sound check in Manchester, UK) about Love Hope Strength’s future, funding sources (like putting on crazy concerts in unexpected elevations worldwide), the power of music and more.

You just celebrated Love Hope Strength’s 5th anniversary this year. Where do you see the charity five years from now?

Mike: I suspect we’ll still be here, fighting the fight. Cancer is a very dangerous weapon to humanity. If James and I are still around in five years [laughter], we’ll just keep encouraging people to stay alive.

“The goal of LHS is not just about raising money, but it’s to tell stories, show others that people the likes of James and me can come back from cancer and do wonderful things.”

- Mike Peters, of The Alarm

James: In a less poetic way [laughter], the charity continues to grow every year by adding new countries. Just two weeks ago we launched Mexico, where we’re going to do bone marrow donor drives across the country. We get offers every day from different countries in the world. I hope we can add hundreds of thousands of donors so that people don’t have to wait months and worry that you’re not going to find a donor. It’s a big, big world and a big mission, you know, and we’re just trying to do one country at a time.

Many musicians today use the power of their music and fame to promote a cause. Some examples would be Jack Johnson, Zac Brown, Dave Matthews, Bono, and you Mike. Do you think this is trend, a fad that’s going away, or do you think the relationship between musicians and charities is here to stay?

Mike: I don’t think it’s a trend. I think musicians will always be involved in humanitarian causes. Music is such a natural expression of your feelings and of who you are as human being. Having something to say is the most important ingredient you need to become a successful artist.

“If you’ve got something to say, and it’s relevant and powerful, then you’re doing something right as a musician.”

- Mike Peters

James: I think it’s important to know the balance between supporting the cause and promoting the cause, and not hitting their fans over the head with it. Artists now are able to do it in a way that engages the fans instead of alienate them. I think we do that really well, Mike, in the sense that we stand back and stay true to who we are and what we do.

Mike: Yeah, when I started with my band The Alarm in 1981, we had high ideals to power people and change the world. As I got older, I realized that it’s okay to say those things but people want more specific examples, they want to know how they can engage in the circle. So then when we started LHS, we gave musicians a reason to talk about the charity on stage in a meaningful, positive way, without distracting fans from the music.

One of the cool things you guys do is you host first-ever concerts with big time musicians at some pretty unusual places, such as Mount Everest (twice), Mount Fuji, Empire State building and Machu Picchu in Peru. Tell us about it.

Slim Jim Phantom of The Stray Cats and Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze sing at 18,526ft during the Everest Rocks concert. Photo: Jake Norton/MountainWorld

James: Back in 2007, Mike and I came up with this crazy idea that were going to climb Mount Everest, you know, just to celebrate our recovery from leukemia, kind of like “climbing back from cancer.” It was just going to be him and me celebrating life. But then we used our entrepreneur minds and decided that Mike was going to invite some of his buddies like Billy Duffy from The Cults, Slim Jim Phantom from Stray Cats, Glenn Tilbrook from Squeeze, and have all of this power in the music world join us in the celebration. I invited cancer survivors and we all climbed the mountain to announce what we’re doing to the world. It really evolved from there. The experience of climbing back, being so far down, and leading a charge back up the mountains to help others be able to climb back became the theme of the charity.

We kicked off, actually, with a climb of the Empire State Building steps, 1,576 to be exact, in a concert at the observational deck. It worked as an announcement of the launch of LHS and our plans to climb Everest.

What’s the main goal of performing these amazing feats?

James: The goal is twofold. One goal is to create awareness about our charity. The other is to raise funds. On these hikes, people pay a pretty significant amount of money to come and join these adventures, meet and get to know these musicians. We’ve raised millions of dollars over the years through these events. Another cool outcome we get from these events is that the musicians themselves get an experience of a lifetime.  

Some of the biggest musicians in the world come to us and say “I’ve played to millions and millions of people but this is probably one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done.”

Why did LHS decide to participate in the Music For Good program?

James: It’s such a natural fit for us being a music-based charity and all. Another thing we learned throughout this process is that the power of music is just incredible!

“Music doesn’t know any border. It doesn’t know color, it doesn’t know race, it doesn’t know religion, it doesn’t know economic status. Whether you’re rich or poor, it’s music.”

- James Chippendale, Co-Founder of Love Hope Strength

That’s the message we’re trying to spread. I mean, we also don’t have any borders. We’re now in four countries around the world and we’re finding matches for people from dozens of countries. It’s not about a US-based cancer charity; it’s about a global community. I think music resonates across a global community. To be able to interact with thousands of people who are part of ReverbNation is amazing. These artists can align with us and be part of our family for years and years to come.

When musicians support us, they’re going to be able to see the results. They’ll see cancers centers that are being built, the donors that we have, the lives we save. That right there is the differentiating factor from anything else out there.

Mike: Yeah, and our events are not about giving money so much. They’re about encouraging people to get tested to be on the list to be a bone marrow donor with a simple cotton swab of the cheek; they’re about getting them excited to join the cause. So we’re very thankful to those who do participate!

James: We realized musicians and fans are giving us a tremendous gift in supporting us, so we wanted to give them that gift back by showing them how they are helping us.

WANT TO SUPPORT LOVE HOPE STRENGTH FOUNDATION? Click here to get involved!

To learn more about Love Hope Strength Foundation, please visit their website. 

To buy music from The Alarm and help support Love Hope Strength, please visit their ReverbNation profile.

Haven’t seen Renman MB Live? Then you’re missing out on one of the music industry’s best kept secrets. Steve Rennie — AKA Renman — is the longtime manager of Incubus and a driving force behind the band’s multi-platinum commercial success.

Last year he launched a weekly live web show, Renman MB Live, to provide “insider access” to the music industry. His no-holds-barred feedback on what musicians are doing right – and wrong – is fueled by 30+ years of music industry contacts turned guests; producers, promoters, marketing execs, breaking and signed bands.

This week, our own Jed Carlson, President and Co-Founder of ReverbNation, joined in right after Seth Hurwitz, owner of the legendary 930 Club, and shared some true pearls of wisdom (and some colorful language!)

In the video below, Jed gives insights on promoting shows. He includes a quick demo of how artists can “poster the web” with the details on their upcoming show, targeting likely fan on the very day they’re set to play using Promote a Show (after all, 81% music venues say same-day concert marketing is critical to drive awareness).

Jed concludes with a quick tour of Music For Good — our innovative music download platform that connects artists, fans and 13 amazing charities. Check out this video and discover just how much good downloading music can do!

Check out what’s on tap this week at ReverbNation!

Enter Verizon Presents Indie Icon: The Search for the Midwest’s Top Emerging Artists

Genre(s): Blues, Christian/Gospel, Hip Hop, Jazz, R&B/Soul, Reggae, Rap and Electronic Dance Music
Location: Online

Stars aren’t created; they’re discovered. You know you have the voice and powerful music to inspire generations…you just need the chance to prove it to the world. Now you can, thanks to Indie Icon presented by Verizon.

Verizon is looking for the hottest indie music acts making their mark on the Midwest music scene. And if you have what it takes, you could be taking the stage at the Verizon booth at the 2013 ESSENCE Festival™ presented by Coca-Cola—the world’s largest African American-based music festival held over the Fourth of July weekend in New Orleans, Louisiana.

To be eligible for this contest, you must:
• Be a solo artist or group with no more than six members
• Be 21 or older
• Live in Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, Minnesota or Nebraska
• Create music in the following genres: Blues; Christian/Gospel; Electronic; Hip Hop; Jazz; R&B/Soul; Rap; Reggae
• Submit an original song (4 minutes, max) no later than 11:59 pm EST on April 21

Think you have what it takes? >

Play for thousands of music-lovers at Summer Camp Music Festival

Genre(s): Alternative, Blues, Jazz, Rock, Americana, Bluegrass, Jam, Electronic Dance Music and Funk
Location: Chillicothe, IL

What was your favorite part of summer camp? Was it sleeping in a tent? Making s’mores and singing songs around the glow of the fire pit? How about making new friends? At the Summer Camp Music Festival, you can relive all of these childhood memories while creating new ones that are just as exciting.

The Summer Camp Music Festival will select one (1) ReverbNation act to perform in front of 15,000+ music fans at Three Sisters Park in Chillicothe, IL. The selected artist will be performing with moe., Umphrey’s McGee, Trey Anastasio Band, STS9, The Avett Brothers, Thievery Corporation, Zed’s Dead, Big Gigantic, Yonder Mountain String Band, Keller Williams w/ More Than A Little, Diplo, EOTO, Big Boi, Taj Mahal Trio, Gramatik, Paper Diamond, Griz, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, North Mississippi All-Stars, Conspirator, Cornmeal, Lettuce, Future Rock, Victor Wooten (Artist at Large) and many more.

Artist/Band Compensation: $250-300

Expected Attendance: 15,000

Ready to show off your Kumbaya skills? >

Join the lineup for Gulf Coast Jam Country Music Festival

Genre(s): Country, Americana and Bluegrass
Location: Panama City Beach, FL

If your idea of fun in the sun includes performing at the beach alongside some of the biggest names in country music, look no further than the Gulf Coast Jam Country Music Festival.

Gulf Coast Jam is a 3-day Country Music Festival where approximately forty-five acts will perform for an expected attendance of 15,000 per night and 5,000 per day. Six (6) ReverbNation acts will be selected to perform on any of the stages, including: the Headline Stage (Frank Brown Park), three Beachfront Stages (Edgewater Beach & Golf Resort, The Boardwalk Beach Resort and Seahaven Beach Resorts), or at any of the late night venues.

Some of the artists and bands confirmed to play are Toby Keith, Brantley Gilbert, Trace Adkins, Eli Young Band, Kip Moore, Charlie Daniels Band, Pepsi’s X Factor Winner Tate Stevens, Darryl Worley, and Blackberry Smoke. More will be announced soon!

It’s time to kick off your cowboy boots and feel the sand between your toes. >

Get your djent on in front of 1500 attendees at Euroblast in Cologne, Germany

Genre(s): Metal and Rock
Location: Cologne, DE

Is your metal band the voice of the next djent-eration? If you answered yes, Europe’s most progressive and cutting edge experimental and tech-metal festival wants you to play.

Euroblast Festival – The Ninth Coming, hosted by The Euroblast Collective, is the ninth annual experimental, progressive, djent and tech metal festival in Cologne, Germany. Euroblast expects a global audience. Confirmed bands for the festival include Mnemic, Benea Reach, Xerath, Cyclamen, The Omega Experiment, Hacride & Klone. The festival is looking for five ReverbNation bands to play in October 2013. Last year’s artists include Long Distance Calling, After the Burial, Scar Symmetry and Jeff Loomis.

Don’t miss out on your chance to play with some of the biggest names in metal! >

Don’t want to miss out on upcoming opportunities?

Here are four ways you can stay up-to-date on our latest gigs. We recommend using all of them to ensure nothing gets missed! Stalk us, we don’t mind. >

• Follow our updates on Twitter (@ReverbNation or @Gigs) and Facebook
• Check the email updates we send you
• Check the latest Opportunities on this page
• Go to your Control Room on your Reverb page > click “Opportunities”

This is the second blog post from the bi-weekly series highlighting the Music For Good charities and their spotlight artists (read blog about Fender Music Foundation here). Subscribe to our blog (enter your email on the right) to get a new blog post every other week!

SEE ALSO: What is Music For Good and how do I get involved?

We got to speak with Rob Parker (upper right), CEO of Zac Brown’s Camp Southern Ground, and Blackberry Smoke (bottom), a Southern rock band that supports them through Music For Good.

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When Zac Brown was a teenager, he worked as a counselor in a camp that mixed kids with special needs with typically developed children in a way that helped both. He had a vision that eventually he would be able to open his own camp where children with special needs could play, learn and grow alongside children with typical needs.

Fast forward to today, three Grammy awards later and multiple shows under his belt, Zac is about to realize his lifetime dream. He recently invested on 500 acres of land in Fayetteville, just 40 minutes south of Atlanta, for the establishment of his charity Camp Southern Ground, now in development phase.

SUPPORT CAMP SOUTHERN GROUND: Click here to sell or buy music.

Zac Brown with Camp Southern Ground’s children

We talked to Rob Parker, the camp’s President and CEO, about Zac’s vision and how the charity will help children with behavioral disabilities and also those with typical needs.

Rob told us the camp has many of the traditional things that kids experience at camp — there’s swimming, horseback riding, ropes courses, and more. But there are also some things unique to Zac’s vision. “Music will be a big part of what we do,” Rob said. “There will be big focus on dramatic and creative arts. Technology will also be significant. We want to create an environment where research can be done on autism and the wide spectrum of behaviors related to autism like Asperger’s and ADD/ADHD.” This is an especially personal topic for Rob who has a grandson with autism.

“Raising awareness about autism is one of my passions. I think there’s been huge progress in the past couple of years but there is still a long way to go.”

- Rob Parker, President and CEO of Camp Southern Ground

Camp Southern Ground partners with groups such as Autism Speaks to help them design experiences that stretch and grow autistic children.

Because of their proximity to Atlanta’s airport, Rob believes Camp Southern Ground will be able to convene experts wanting to use the first class research facility they will build as part of the camp. “We hope that these experts will have the opportunity to see how the camp can positively affect these children.” One of the positive effects he mentioned is that, for many of these kids, it’s their first time in an overnight setting away from their parents where they can gain a sense of independence and self-confidence in a safe environment.

“The cool thing is that they get the chance to be a kid; meanwhile, there’s a whole research team behind the scenes working hard to make progress to discover new insights of autism and behavioral disabilities all along the spectrum.”

Charlie Starr of Blackberry Smoke

We later talked to Charlie Starr, lead singer of the southern rock band Blackberry Smoke and friends with Zac Brown. Blackberry Smoke, along with six other bands under Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Artists label, fully supports Camp Southern Ground through the Music For Good program.

“Zac has been so passionate about this from the beginning,” Charlie told us. “His belief and enthusiasm have rubbed off on everyone involved. I’m no doctor, of course, but it seems to make sense that children with special needs could benefit from the environment at Camp Southern Ground.”

Rob agrees and says that Zac is in this for real. He told us that Zac often talks about his dream for the camp and where he hopes it can go.

“Driving up to the camp’s entrance, hearing all of the kids laughing, and seeing all of the kids running through the grounds is what he’s looking forward to most. He loves the energy associated with camp and wants to bring this opportunity to children of all abilities.”

WANT TO SUPPORT CAMP SOUTHERN GROUND? Click here to get involved!

To learn more about Camp Southern Ground, please visit their website. 

To buy music from artists from Zac Brown’s label, Southern Ground Artists, and help support Camp Southern Ground, please visit their ReverbNation profile.