Rockfest Brings Punkabilly Musician Lauren Spike with the Rocker Contest (concours rocker)

Lauren Spike. Rocker Contest (concours rocker) Montebello Rockfest 2016

Back in March 2016, Amnesia Rockfest launched their 2016 Rocker Contest (concours rocker), an online voting contest to pick one band to play at their music festival.

Over 125 bands entered the Rocker Contest (concours rocker). The contest was simple; share the voting link and get your fans to vote for you once a day. The judges would then pick a winner from the top 10 most voted bands.

The voting contest lasted over 2.5 months. It was very exciting to see the top 10 bands shift throughout the Rocker Contest (concours rocker), though for the most part, it mostly stayed the same.

I am honoured to announce that they selected my band, Lauren Spike, from the top 10 to play. I was at #3 at the time of selection, so I guess I stuck out!

In reality, this isn't just a win for me, it's a win for punk, psychobilly and punkabilly music everywhere. For the musicians and fans, the music and scene we create IS important, and DOES have value. Maybe there's a glimmer of hope for us yet. I’d also like to give a big shout out to everyone that voted for me in this contest. YOU made this happen!

Here are the show details for our set at Amnesia Rockfest 2016 in Montebello, QC, Canada:

Date: Thursday, June 23rd, 2016
Time slot: 5pm
Stage: Tony Sly 1

As much as online contests can be flawed. I would recommend this contest to any band. The fact that they pick a band from the top 10 really gives you a chance. "Real people" at the festival actually listen to your music and make a decision, so it's not 100% automated. It takes about 20-30 people voting for you a day to get into the top 10. If you're in a band with a strong fan base, you should not have a problem (<-- please keep that in mind before posting negative comments about the contest. lol).

From a marketing perspective, the Rocker Contest (concours rocker) is great promotion for the festival. Driving hundreds of voters to their site daily and having bands share the festival website on all their social media channels. As someone who has taken university level marketing courses, I applaud Amnesia Rockfest for this unique approach.

I hope that the festival continues to combine marketing initiatives with opportunities to have new (independent) talent take the stage. As an independent musician, I know opportunities like these are few and far between, and you gotta take every opportunity you can.

UPDATE….

THANK YOU AMNESIA ROCKFEST IN MONTEBELLO!

A big shout out to the amazing crowd, stage and sound crew, and everyone at Amnesia Rockfest that made this year's festival unforgettable!