Capitol Hill People’s Fair Entertainment Process
by Cathleen Carico
On Saturday February 15 Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods (CHUN) began the first step in selecting the entertainment lineup for the 2014 People’s Fair. In previous years The People’s Fair has held a listening party to select the acts to perform at the live audition, during which the entertainment committee and CHUN staffers listened to demos sent in by bands. However, this year the People’s Fair hosted a viewing party instead where the talent was judged based upon YouTube videos the bands submitted.
Entertainment co-chair,, decided to change the process in order to give the entertainment committee the opportunity to see bands in action. “The viewing party this year allows the committee extra opportunity to fully view the acts before voting on who will be selected to perform at the UMX (Ultimate Music Xperience). We have been talking about making this change for several years and opted to try it this year. It worked quite well,” said Finesilver.
As part of the application process each act was required to submit at least three video links or a video channel for review. This year over 300 bands applied meaning there were over 900 videos to review! All of the new bands are reviewed while returning bands advance to the next stage of the process. The CHUN staff complied each band’s videos into YouTube channels that were grouped by genre. The range of genres was extremely diverse, ranging from rock to Celtic to bluegrass and country. At the viewing party CHUN’s leadership and representatives from the Denver music scene watched each video and cast their vote.
After the votes had been tallied, the entertainment committee began the difficult job of choosing the top 40-50 acts to move on to the final round of auditions, also called the Ultimate Music Xperience (UMX). At the UMX, the finalists will have the opportunity to play two songs or ten minutes of music to compete for one of the entertainment slots at the People’s Fair. The UMX is a battle of the bands style competition with one group performing while the next sets up.
“The acts will be judged based upon the performance. VIP’s have a separate ballot, as do members of the entertainment committee itself. Members of the public also get a ballot”, said Finesilver. “Everyone has a say. Think of it as the ultimate battle of the bands!”
This year the UMX will be held on Saturday March 22 from approximately 10am-7pm at the Celtic Tavern (1801 Blake Street). The general public is invited to attend free of charge and listen to what will surely be a fantastic lineup. The top 30-40% of bands will be invited to participate in this years lineup and perform on one of the People’s Fair’s three stages along with returning bands from previous years. Be sure to stop by the UMX and cast your vote!
Category: Local News
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