mnartists.org Launches New Quarterly Contest for Minnesota Musicians

mnartists.org announces the launch of

mnSpin

, a quarterly music contest for Minnesota musicians. Winning tracks from each contest are selected by panelists from within the music industry. Each week a three-song playlist from the winning submissions will be featured on the mnartists.org and Summit Brewery (summitbrewing.com) Web sites. Quarterly listening parties at area venues will take place and a compilation CD of music from the yearlong contest will be produced. The first mnSpin listening party, sponsored by Summit Beer, will be held on Saturday, March 22, at the Nomad World Pub, 501 Cedar Avenue on the West Bank in Minneapolis. The party will feature guest DJs playing the music of contest winners and live entertainment. The deadline for submissions for the first series is January 11.

mnSpin will also present a series of free professional development workshops for musicians in partnership with the Diverse Emerging Music Organization (D.E.M.O.), Springboard for the Arts, and McNally Smith College of Music. The first workshop will be held on Saturday, March 29, 4–6 pm, at Summit Brewery, 910 Montreal Circle in St. Paul. A party follows the workshop.

Judges for the first series include:

Rachel Lee Joyce

(mnSpin Coordinator) is Assistant Director of Public Relations for the Walker Art Center. As D.J. Nite Nurse, she co-hosts the world music program “Shake & Bake” on KFAI radio. Joyce is a member of the board of directors of the Cedar Cultural Center and D.E.M.O. She is a co-founder of the Minneapolis Afrifest.

Chris Roberts

has worked at Minnesota Public Radio as a reporter, producer, and host since 1989. From 1999–2003, Roberts created and hosted MPR’s weekly arts program “Word of Mouth.” He’s currently an arts reporter for MPR News and host of “The Local Show,” a weekly hour-long program devoted to local music on 89.3 The Current. Roberts has received numerous regional and national honors for his work, including awards from the Minnesota Music Academy, the National Association of Black Journalists, Public Radio News Directors Association, Unity Awards, and American Women in Television and Radio. He has a B.A. in English from the University of Michigan.

Kate Galloway

is the Artist & Repertoire Coordinator for Compass Productions, a Minneapolis company that develops compilation and original music CDs for large retailers. She was on the board of directors for the Minnesota Music Academy from 2003–2007, and served various positions including President, Treasurer, and Awards Show Chairperson. She’s been involved in the music and entertainment industry for over seven years with projects such as Lili’s Burlesque Revue, Nomad World Pub, Voltage Fashion Amplified, and much more.

Dessa

is a writer and rapper living in Minneapolis. Most of her songs and essays orbit around family, death, and the heroism involved in being an ordinary person on any given ordinary day. Dessa works with the Doomtree crew, the rowdiest group of best friends ever to start an independent music label. For pictures, music, and performance schedules, visit www.doomtree.net or myspace.com/dessadarling.

Submission Specifications and Entry Process

Any and all types of music accepted; only three tracks per musician will be reviewed for possible inclusion on the CD. Tracks can be uploaded to artist pages on mnartists.org, and a URL of the page can then be e-mailed to mnspin@mnartists.org. Submissions must come from mnartists.org members. To sign up for membership, visit www.mnartists.org/join.do?action=join. For assistance with registration or with uploading music tracks, please e-mail info@walkerart.org or call 612.375.7611.