2016 BET AWARDS WEEKEND Industry Showcases Announced for Fri June 24 PRE-PARTY, Sat June 25 COUNTDOWN TO BET & Sun June 25 INDUSTRY AFTERPARTY in L.A.

BET AWARDS WEEKEND Industry Showcases Announced for three major events, including Friday June 24 : PRE-PARTY, Saturday June 25 : COUNTDOWN TO BET & Sunday June 25 : BET INDUSTRY AFTERPARTY in L.A. for selected Artists, Industry & Media. In what is called the ‘most important week & event of the year for Urban Entertainment’, the BET Week in L.A. presents the opportunity for artists, managers, radio execs, labels, TV, online media & power players from across all areas of the industry to converge in Southern California.

The three major events presents a major opportunity for rising artists, managers, producers and moguls to be seen, heard & connect with industry players. The weekend long trio of acclaimed events include :

* Friday June 24 - THE PRE-PARTY :
Industry & Media KICK OFF the BET WEEKEND with the PRE-PARTY, including THE NEXT BIG THING SHOWCASE - where highly acclaimed Artists Perform for Industry. Attendees include Labels, CEOs, A&R, Talent Scouts, Radio Execs, DJs, Magazines, Booking Agents, Concert Promoters & more. Artist Performances will be filmed for TV & Industry promotions.

* Saturday June 25 - COUNTDOWN TO BET :
Artists, Industry & Media party the day before the big Awards, as the COUNTDOWN TO BET Party & Showcase rages in the heart of Hollywood - the Entertainment Capital of the World!
Major artist showcases, Sponsors & TV Shows - Radio Shows - Blogs & Magazines happening at the highly anticipated event leading up to the big Night!

* Sunday June 26 - INDUSTRY AFTERPARTY :
The Celebration for the just concluded AWARDS, where Industry & Artists celebrate the Wins, the Great Talents & the Next To Blow in the industry! Talent Scouts, Labels, CEOs, Tour Promoters, Agents, Media & more for the AFTERPARTY NEXT BIG THING Showcase. Selected Artists Show the World what they got. Filmed for TV, Radio interviews, Red Carpet Photos & Media coverage, make for a Night to Remember!

Produced by Top Industry Veterans & Producers of the hottest Industry Networking event POWERMIX in Hollywood, that is supported by a Who’s Who in the Industry, including BMI, WILLIAM MORRIS Agency, INDIEPOWER, CD BABY, DISCMAKERS, ASCAP, MUSIC CONNECTION, IES-INDIE ENTERTAINMENT SUMMIT, MUSIC REGISTRY, INDIE MUSIC VIDEO CHANNEL, GIGCONNECTS, NARIP, SUCCESS ACADEMY, A&R CENTRAL, E B I : ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS INSTITUTE, SESAC & others.

For Sponsorship opportunities - to have Your Brand All Over the Prestigious Events : 818-505-1836 sponsors@VIPawardShowcases.com

For Artists to be Considered for the PRIME SHOWCASE Opportunities call : 818-505-0669 talent@VIPawardShowcases.com

Media contact: info@VIPawardShowcases.com 818-508-8262 for Coverage, Interviews & Tie-ins

www.VIPawardShowcases.com
www.NextBigThingShowcase.com
www.IESfest.com

http://www.mi2n.com/press.php3?press_nb=190283

Top 10 Fender Contender Country Music Challengers Announced

The Top 10 Fender Contender Challengers have been announced, and the fans' favorite will open Country Summer, Northern California's biggest country music festival June 5-7 at Sonoma County Event Center.

Go to www.countrysummer.com to vote for your favorite Fender Contender. The first round of public voting continues through April 15, 2015. Top 10 Fender Contender Challengers include:

Jared Porter - Porter was the Australian Star Maker award winner in 2014. He has performed at the CMA World GlobalLive Concert in Nashville, toured with Australia's biggest names in country and recorded his debut album, "East to West." He's venturing back to the United States in hopes of making it big.

JD Bauman & the Boot Band - Santa Rosa, California has been Bauman's home since birth. The Honky Tonk sound on his newest release profiles his booming baritone accented by the eerie likes of a steel guitar. The band has an impressive resume, having shared the stage with Willie Nelson, Joe Diffie and The Charlie Daniels Band to name a few.

Lindsay Bruce - Born and raised in Northern California, Bruce is the voice of California Country - a blend of her West Coast upbringing and traditional country values, amplified by her last three years in Nashville. Her sound combines the upbeat feel of a summer concert with singer/songwriter relatability. In 2014, she landed a spot on Season 6 of NBC's "The Voice."

LMJ - Lisa Marie Johnson, affectionately referred to as LMJ, blends country, Americana and blues into a style she calls "Stomp and Groove." LMJ has worked her way through college, gigging around the San Francisco Bay area, while also recording. She released her first extended play "This is Me" in 2011 and a full length album in 2012.

Mason Grace - Built by artists Jynette Lynell from Tampa, Florida; Tamara Ray from Bakersfield, California; and Jacqueline Rose from Saint Louis, Missouri, this trio is currently in the studio cutting their latest tunes. Their unique blend of country music transposes modern country to a fun groove with an infectious country swag sound.

McKenna Faith - Faith is a 20-year-old country rock/country pop singer/songwriter and Nashville recording artist from Northern California. She has toured the nation, shared the stage with country's biggest stars and was the #1 Selling Independent Female Country Artist on iTunes in 2013.

Queen Anne's Lace - Carly Graves and Kyle Lino grew up listening to 1990s country music and branched out to alternative rock, pop and bluegrass. "Some of our songs are strongly influenced by pop, and one or two have a bluegrass feeling," Graves said. "We have tried a variety of styles, but you just can't beat feel good country music."

Rob Staley - Staley is a young country music artist living in Los Angeles with a genuine love and respect for "real country music." Since relocating from his small hometown in Plattsburgh, New York, his band is quickly becoming a fabric of the Southern California country music scene. The Rob Staley Band has just released a new record.

SaraBeth - Born and raised in Dallas, SaraBeth is a singer/songwriter making her mark in Nashville as the sweetly southern artist with an edge. She charted two Top 40 singles in 2014. With dates nationwide, she has shared the stage with country superstars, including Brantley Gilbert. Her current self-titled extended play is set for release April 14, 2015.

Tyler Rich - Rich found his love for country music after seeing George Strait at the age of 8. After working on his craft and years of touring across the country with multiple bands, he decided to pursue a solo career. Since that day, he has performed alongside some of the industry's top artists, including Easton Corbin. His debut album will be released in 2015.

One of these great country music acts will perform on the Country Summer Montgomery Village Stage, the main stage. In addition to recognition as a Country Summer superstar, the grand prize winner will receive $5,000.

Based upon the public votes, the Top 10 will be narrowed to the Final 4. The second round of voting will be from April 17 through April 29, 2015 to select the grand prize winner. The winner will be announced May 1, 2015.

To date, Country Summer presented by Lithia RAM of Santa Rosa, has announced 13 of 14 entertainers. Country Summer 2015 headliners include Jake Owen on June 5, The Band Perry on June 6 and Brantley Gilbert on June 7.

In addition to the headliners, the June 5 lineup includes Gary Allan, Chris Young and Parmalee; June 6 includes Lee Brice, Jerrod Niemann, Frankie Ballard and The Swon Brothers; and June 7 includes Trace Adkins, Easton Corbin and Cassadee Pope.

Daily tickets start from $69 for general admission, $99 for reserved seats. A limited number of discount three-day packages are available. To purchase tickets, visit www.countrysummer.com or call 800.514.3849 to order by phone.

Event sponsors include Lithia RAM of Santa Rosa, Bud Light, Montgomery Village, Friedman's Home Improvement, Les Schwab Tire Centers of Sonoma and Mendocino Counties, Leese-Fitch Wines, Jack Daniel's, River Rock Casino, Fender, Creams, Cattlemens, Harris Ranch, the City of Santa Rosa, American AgCredit, Santa Rosa Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Froggy 92.9.

About Fender
Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) is one of the world's leading musical instrument manufacturers, marketers and distributors, whose portfolio of brands includes Fender®, Squier®, Gretsch®, Jackson®, EVH® and Charvel®, among others. For more information, visit www.fender.com.

http://countrysummer.com/

http://www.mi2n.com/press.php3?press_nb=182605

Hybrid Studios Helps Of Mice & Men Come Full Circle

After relentless touring in 2014, the metal band Of Mice & Men stepped into Hybrid Studios in their home base of Orange County, California to record some new material. The sessions resulted in four new songs, which appear as bonus tracks on their February 24, 2015 release of Restoring Force: Full Circle, a follow-up to their 2014 album Restoring Force on Rise Records.

Having completed 10 days of pre-production to dial in the songs and lyrics that were mainly written on the road, multi-platinum Producer David Bendeth (Papa Roach, Vertical Horizon, As I Lay Dying) and the band sought to record locally for some much needed R&R, but needed to match or exceed the quality of the original material on Restoring Force.

"Being a local band to Orange County, it was important for us to find a comfortable and state of the art studio that could house the team of engineers as well as give us an overall great vibe to our session, and Hybrid did just that," said the band's drummer Valentino Arteaga. "Their team really took care of us and the atmosphere at the studio really helped keep the creativity flowing throughout the sessions."

The band spent three weeks in October recording at Hybrid. Bendeth, who works out of House of Loud Studios in New Jersey, acclimated to new surroundings quickly. "Hybrid has top of the line gear, a great sounding live room, and an SSL 4064G+ in the control room," said Bendeth, adding that familiarity with the mixing console, which is similar to the one installed in House of Loud, made for speedy and smooth tracking sessions.

Of Mice & Men are on tour in support of Restoring Force: Full Circle with a European swing in March and in the US from April to June. For more information, visit www.ofmiceandmenofficial.com.

For more information about Hybrid Studios, visit www.HybridStudiosCA.com.

About Hybrid Studios
Hybrid Studios is fully integrated multimedia production facility in Orange County, CA. Not only does Hybrid feature a state-of-the-art analog & digital recording studio; it also boasts a massive sound stage, including a pre-lit cyclorama. Equipped with the best gear and an experienced staff, Hybrid provides a variety of products and services to clients across the creative spectrum from recording, mixing and mastering to video and photography.

http://www.mi2n.com/press.php3?press_nb=181853

MarilynMusic Welcomes You To A Creative And Fruitful 2015

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Latest recording projects include three new tracks featuring Australian top ten singer songwriter Thom Crawford. "No Reason No Rhyme," "Smoke and Mirrors," and "Just Say Yes" are all available on MarilynMusic.net.

"It's been a privilege to work with and feature Sony recording artist Sera Burus, whom Michael Bolton has called the best singer he's ever heard," said MarilynMusics' Casey Conrad from The Vertical Room studio in NYC. "You Loved Me Best" is a powerful pop country crossover."It's the perfect match for Sera's incredible vocal chops," Conrad explained.

A unique opportunity to create a "State song" for California was the genesis of "Golden State," a rock anthem that evokes the power of Springsteen and Seger. Showcasing the talents of NYC based studio legend and Blues Brother's lead singer Jonny Rosch, the song is like a trip along the California coast including a cool homage to the Beach Boys.

Continuing a longstanding working relationship with New York producer/writer Gary Haase, Conrad is currently in the studio using his engineering and mixing skills on projects for various artists including Paul Mcartney and Chaka Khan.

MarilynMusics' Michael Gaines is busy in L.A. writing songs while also working on several film endeavors including "The Auctioneer," a drama set in the early 60's dealing with the seamy underbelly of the auction business.

Gaines and Conrad remain committed to their belief in the power of music to affect positive change.

You can access all of MarilynMusics'songs for licensing and purchase at MARILYNMUSIC.NET

Jazz Legend Jeff Hamilton Joins Big Drum Bonanza Line Up

Legendary Jazz drummer Jeff Hamilton (Ella Fitzgerald/Diana Krall/Paul McCartney/Michael Buble) has joined the line up for the first annual Thomas Lang’s Big Drum Bonanza (BDB), scheduled for June 25th -29th at The Palm Garden Hotel, Thousand Oaks California. Drummers of all ages, levels and styles are invited to join Thomas Lang and other special guest instructors including world-renowned drummers Virgil Donati (Steve Vai/Planet X/Derek Sherinian); Kenny Aronoff (John Mellencamp/Chickenfoot/Bob Seger); Chris Coleman (The Mars Volta) and Chris Coleman (Prince/Stanley Clark) for this exciting, 5-day music camp and educational experience. Lang and his special guest teachers will lead 
daily schedule of intensive drumming, drum education, Q&A sessions, private lessons, exclusive presentations and more. For nearly four decades, drummer Jeff Hamilton has proven to be one of the most versatile and original drummers in contemporary music. Having worked with an incredibly diverse range of artists – from Country legend Willie Nelson – to Ella Fitzgerald, The Count Basie Orchestra, Queen Latifah and Michael Buble – Hamilton’s impeccable feel, skill and brush technique are simply unsurpassed. "The addition of Jeff Hamilton brings a whole new dynamic to the Big Drum Bonanza," says Lang. “His brush work and his feel set the standard for Jazz drumming. You will definitely see me sitting in on his lessons!” World-renowned drumming superstar/producer, award-winning instructional DVD creator and author, Thomas Lang was named #13 on Rhythm magazine’s “Top Drummers of the Past 25 Years” and has previously hosted prestigious Thomas Lang Drumming Boot Camps drum camps all over the world in various locations including: Los Angeles, Milan, New York, Berlin, Vienna, London and Melbourne among others. All Big Drum Bonanza packages offer full tuition and total access to the entire program of activities and performances and private room accommodations at The Palm Garden Hotel in Thousand Oaks, California located just 25 minutes outside Los Angeles. For additional information, pricing packages and updates on the Big Drum Bonanza, please visit www.bigdrumbonanza.com Email: elizabethlang@rockarcadia.com