April 2013 saw the launch of an amazing 5-month competition put together by Rolling Stone magazine in partnership with The Kraken Black Spiced Rum.
The three-phased competition encourages up-and-coming local bands and solo performers to ‘make rock real’ by establishing themselves on the SA rock scene and embracing various aspects of their own representation.
The thrilling result of this competition will see the production of the debut album for the winning artist or band. The lucky winner will also be featured in Rolling Stone magazine and on various TV channels as well as gaining the opportunity to perform at Rolling Stone events along with headline artists.
Phase one requires entrants to submit their own ‘Facebook fan page’ detailing personal biographical information, samples of their music, videos and promotional materials.
Phase two will incorporate a more traditional “battle-of-the-bands” approach; featuring two shows (5 acts to perform in Jhb, 5 to perform in CT) where, ultimately, two acts in each city will advance to the final four. This live performance phase will form part of the pre-existing Rolling Stone monthly events already running at Mercury Live in Cape Town and Tans Café in Johannesberg.
Phase three will see “bands-on-the-run”, with the final four bands or artists giving live performances, television and radio appearances and engaging in challenging social media campaigns.
The perfect partner for this competition, The Kraken Rum, with its edge-of-the-world, man-eating, shipwrecking brand story is the programme’s title sponsor. Competition judges in each phase will range from music industry experts and commentators to Rolling Stone editors and music bloggers – and ultimately, of course, the general public itself.
Rolling Stone SA will be updating readers on the competition in their monthly publication – so stay tuned for more excitement and, of course, more mind-blowing music coming your way.