Electric City Music Conference and Steamtown Music Awards return for third year Sept. 15-17
From a press release:
The Electric City Music Conference and Steamtown Music Awards will return to Scranton (and surrounding areas) Sept. 15-17 and will feature educational panel discussions, a music festival, and a local music award ceremony. The event has quickly grown to become one of Scranton’s largest music events and has gained national attention.
The Steamtown Music Awards
The festivities will kick off on Thursday, Sept. 15 with the third annual Steamtown Music Awards. The event was established to recognize the accomplishments of the Northeastern Pennsylvania music community on a yearly basis. Public nominations are accepted and then a panel of local and national music industry professionals vote on the finalist. The event features a red carpet, various performances, and award presentations by various local music supporters.
The Steamtown Music Awards will also honor Wilkes-Barre reggae musician George Wesley with a lifetime achievement award. Wesley, who was selected to receive the award last year, recently lost his battle with liver cancer.
The 2016 SMAs will feature special performances by Umbriel, Still Hand String Band, Dani-Elle, Mercy Gang, The Boneflowers, Skip Monday, Flatland Ruckus, and A Fire with Friends.
As always, DJ Hersh will serve as the official DJ of the SMAs.
This year’s events will feature awards for Best New Artist, Blues Act of the Year, Country Act of the Year, DJ of the Year, Duo of the Year, Electronic Act of the Year, Folk/Americana Act of the Year, Hip Hop/Urban Act of the Year, Indie Rock Act of the Year, Jam/Reggae Act of the Year, Jazz Act of the Year, Metal Act of the Year, Pop/Top 40 Act of the Year, Punk/Hardcore Act of the Year, Rock/Alternative Act of the Year, Tribute/Cover Band of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Guitarist of the Year, Bassist of the Year, Drummer of the Year, Music Video of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Local Recording Studio of the Year, Local Music Publication of the Year, Local Music Journalist of the Year, Local Radio Station of the Year, Local Radio DJ of the Year, Local Radio Station of the Year, Local Radio DJ of the Year, Local Music Photographer of the Year, NEPA Live Music Venue of the Year, the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award.
This year’s event was made possible by its generous sponsors: Tunefly, Reaper’s Revenge, Holland Sound Studios, Endeavor Sound, Jack’s Northeast Music Center, Great Lakes Brewing, 1120 Creative, 97.9X, and NEPA Scene.
Music festival
Beginning on Friday, Sept. 16, the music festival features 150 artists and spans across 12 venues. The festival will continue through the evening on Saturday, Sept. 17. The festival portion of the conference will feature local, regional and national-level bands from up and down the East Coast.
’80s punk legends Psycho Nurse will release their CD as part of the Electric City Music Conference on Saturday, Sept. 17 at The V-Spot in Scranton. The band will host a special VIP CD release party that will feature free food and drink specials from 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
Heavy metal legends The Rods, which features local drummer Carl Canedy, will perform a special outdoor set at Thirst T’s Bar & Grill in Olyphant on Saturday, Sept. 17. The band has toured with the likes of Iron Maiden and Metallica. This special event will take place in parking lot of Thirst T’s and feature bands playing both inside and outside. A portion of the proceeds from this stage will be donated to RSD research.
Also on Saturday, three local bands will reunite for one last time at Lyrics Music Venue in Carbondale for an all-ages concert. One Last Time, Terror on the Screen, and Patterns, all of which were extremely popular local bands before calling it quits years ago, will reunite for one final performance.
The 2016 participating venues are Adezzo, The Bog, Backyard Ale House, Irish Wolf Pub, Kildare’s Irish Pub, The Keys, AfA Gallery, New Penny Lounge, Thirst T’s Bar & Grill, Lyrics 18407, The Vault Tap & Kitchen, and The V-Spot.
The majority of shows are only $5, which can be paid at the door upon arriving at the venue. All-ages shows at Lyrics and the AfA Gallery are $10 and can also be purchased at the door. The Rods’ show at Thirst T’s is the only 21+ show, which is $10, with a portion of the proceeds going to charity.
For attendees who plan on visiting multiple venues and wish to save money, a one-day hopper pass can be purchased for $15 or a full weekend pass can be purchased for $25. These passes can be purchased in advance here.
A schedule of every the band’s set time can be found here.
The Conference
One of the most unique aspects of the Electric City Music Conference is the panels and presentations from music industry professionals. These events are free to the public and feature music industry professionals from across the United States. The panels will take place from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17 at the AfA Gallery.
Speaking at this year’s event will be Bret Alexander (The Badlees), Freddie Fabbri (Entercom Ent.), Eric Roegmoeller (Word Is Band Management), Jim Thorpe (Dewey Beach Music Conference), Vince Volz (DVT Entertainment), Rich Howells (NEPA Scene), James Thomas Huy (Prospect Music Group), Mark Woodbridge (Word is Bond Management), Tori Thomas (97.9x), Matt Mattei (The Weekender), Suzanne Paulinski (The Rock/Star Advocate), Brittany Boote (local promoter), Greg Shaffer (local promoter), Cory Wolff (Dotted Music), and Frank Woodworth (Stranger Loop Music).
Conference topics include:
- The state of the NEPA music scene
- How to approach a promoter/talent buyer
- “I got signed and…”
- Meet the press (and how to utilize them)
- Taking the next step (becoming a professional)
- How to utilize Tunefly
See our photos from the Electric City Music Conference announcement party at Thirst T’s here.
