Liza Mitchell
With the new year comes a new opportunity for local musicians to come together, showcase their talents and compete for two $15,000 prizes. New and established musicians are encouraged to participate in the 3rd annual One Spark Festival April 7-12 in Downtown Jacksonville.
Crowds in excess of 265,000 people are expected to attend the event, billed as “the World’s Largest Crowdfunding Festival.” Creator registration is underway for musicians, artists and entrepreneurs to compete for bigger awards, exhibit in more venues and accept rewards-based crowdfunding contributions from anywhere in the world. Creators can register their projects at onespark.com.
EU Jacksonville is serving as the official host of the Music Creator Showcase at Underbelly. Artists will take the stage at predetermined time slots between 4pm and midnight, offering four days of live music. Underbelly will provide lights and sound. Artists need to show up with their instruments and the desire to be the next great thing coming out of Jacksonville. EU will also profile the various artists throughout the next few months as the festival nears.
“We’re really excited. EU is giving musicians more visibility at One Spark,” says One Spark’s community and public relations director Meredith O’Malley Johnson. “It’s a great fit.”
One Spark provides a great opportunity for musicians to showcase their talents in a coordinated and dedicated performance space. It also provides the chance for artists to network and promote themselves within the city’s growing creative community. In addition to performing a 45-minute set at Underbelly, participating artists can perform for 20 minutes at the One Spark Music Stage at the Jacksonville Landing.
Musicians always need money. Amps, lights, speakers, recording, drums, guitars, keyboards…the list goes on and on. Two $15,000 cash prizes will be awarded to the top two musical acts. The first will be calculated by crowd vote, while the other will be determined by a juried panel of music industry professionals.
In just two years, 1,015 creators – people with ideas – have connected their projects with over $3.5 million at the world’s largest crowdfunding festival. In 2015, One Spark is even more focused on providing an effective platform for creators to connect with the funding and resources needed to bring their ideas into action.
One Spark continues to find a life of its own with growth in both financial resources and attendance. Last year, 609 creator projects showcased their projects to an estimated 260,000 people, which almost doubled from its inaugural attendance of 130,000.
Creator registration is open through Feb 14, 2015 at https://www.onespark.com/festival/2015. Musicians who want to be matched to the showcase, should register as a creator, using the Participate>Creators dropdown. Registration fees are $75 through Jan 18 and increase to $95 from Jan 19 to Feb 14, 2015. Students with valid .edu email addresses can enter for the reduced rate of $25.
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