It is a competition to give the opportunity to instrumentalists, solo singers, emerging bands without age limits to express their blues musicality in its typical meaning or in a contaminated form such as Rhythm & Blues, Rock-Blues, Soul-blues, Rock'n'Roll, Funky-Blues, Swing, Jive or that has in any case clear Blues roots. The president and godfather of the evening will be Nick The Nightfly, British singer, musician and producer known for being one of the major exponents of Radio Monte Carlo with his program “Monte Carlo Nights”.
The big news this year is the entry into the organization of the contest of the "Italian Gospel Academy” the first academy of its kind in Italy born from the consolidated experience gained over many years of artistic and musical activity by Alessandro Pozzetto and Rudy Fantin.
Il total prize pool of over 4000 euros includes recordings in the professional recording studio offered by Tune Music Lab, Popy Team, Ilma, Casa del Cuscinetto, professional earplugs for musicians offered by Amplifon Pordenone, the recording of a music video offered by Claps. For the most deserving, important prizes are planned scholarships offered by VDA Smart Building and Zoom Viaggi.
The quality jury will be made up of professional musicians known on the international scene and professionals such as promoters, producers, record companies...
Artistic Director: Flavio Baldin
Presents: Igor Pezzi
In case of rain: Concordia Auditorium – Via Interna, 2 - Pordenone
Info and regulations
The “Blues & Black Music Contest FVG” competition, born thanks to the collaboration of important entities in the Province of Pordenone, has reached its eighth edition.
The director is Flavio Baldin, an impartial person, multi-instrumentalist, singer, choirmaster and music expert.
The presence as coordinator of Barbara Antonini, general manager of a multifunctional structure in Pordenone dedicated to musicians, is also reconfirmed.
The jury will be made up of musicians, record companies, journalists, producers and in any case professionals in the sector who must not have any type of family relationship with the competing competitors.
The competition will be guaranteed maximum transparency, seriousness, correctness and professionalism.
The division of categories will be indicatively “singers” and “instrumentalists”.
However, the categories will be specified after the pre-selection phase, based on the characteristics of the competitors.
Each of the categories will be awarded a first, second and third prize, with the technical jury having the possibility to award, at its discretion, other prizes or special mentions.
The final score will be increased by 10% if the soloist presents himself with his own band.
The band must be made up of no more than five members (soloist excluded).
The competitor who participates together with the band will decide the category they belong to, choosing whether to compete as a singer or instrumentalist.
The pre-selection will be carried out by an exceptional jury through the material sent, preferably via a video with good audio quality, but which can also be on an mp3, cd or midi basis.
To ensure maximum transparency and fairness, the members of this jury will not be able to be part of the jury chosen for the final.
Each participant admitted to the final will be entitled to one hour of free rehearsal space at the Tune Music Lab in Pordenone, to be used no later than Wednesday 19 July 2017 to best prepare the performance that he will present live during the Contest.
In parallel to the Contest, “special prizes” will be awarded.
The organization, supported by sponsors, has in fact made available Scholarships that can be used at choice in one of the music schools present in Italy that will receive the amount allocated to them directly from the organization. These prizes will be assigned by analyzing the talents and musical qualities of each competitor, regardless of the category they belong to. The Scholarships will be assigned regardless of the classification of the competitors within the Contest, recognizing among the competitors musicians deserving of receiving such prizes.
The competition was created to give each participant the opportunity to express, through playing or singing, their musicality for the Blues genre, in its most typical meaning or in a contaminated form such as Rhythm & Blues, Rock-Blues, Soul-blues, Rock'n'Roll, Funky-Blues or which in any case clearly has the roots of the Blues.
Much importance will also be given to the originality of the performance and the "feeling" that the musician will be able to convey to the jury as well as the ability to involve the public who, through applause, will be able to enhance the performance and express their consent, which will be held taken into consideration by the jury.
With this initiative the organization wants to involve both private musicians and music schools and with the latter it intends to collaborate by creating an active and constructive exchange both through the participation of their students in the Contest and by giving them the opportunity to promote their activity during the "4th International Music Market" which will be held in Pordenone in Piazza XX Settembre in the afternoon preceding the contest.
Rules
Art. 1 Purpose and objective
The competition aims to valorise new musical talents, with the aim of creating the ideal conditions so that the most interesting projects are disseminated, promoted and presented in the fields relating to the musical, cultural and artistic sectors. During previous editions, there were various competitors who, after having participated and ranked first, now perform on television and give concerts throughout Italy and abroad. This is confirmation that the “Blues & Black Music Contest” is a profitable competition where goals and objectives are regularly achieved.
Art. 2 Who is it addressed to?
The competition is aimed at instrumentalists and solo singers who will be able to perform with pre-recorded backing tracks, with the accompaniment of an instrument or with their own band. In the specific case, the competitor, in order to facilitate the organization, will have to provide a technical sheet (number of musicians, instruments used, etc.). On stage, in addition to the vocal system, a "standard" drum set, two guitar amplifiers, one for bass and a digital piano will be available.
The division of categories will be indicatively “singers” and “instrumentalists”.
However, the categories will be specified after the pre-selection phase, based on the characteristics of the competitors.
For each category, a minimum of 5 participants is required. If this is not the case, the competitors in the category who do not reach the minimum number will be merged into the category most similar to their characteristics.
To participate in the Contest, participants must not have signed contracts with record labels.
Art. 3 How to participate
To register for the Competition, you must send the registration form (see attachment) to the Organizing Secretariat of the “Blues & Black Music Contest FVG 2015” at the address contest@pordenonebluesfestival.it or deliver the material by hand to Tune Music Lab – Via Udine 128 – 33170, Pordenone, no later than July 10 – July 14, 2017.
To register for the Competition, under penalty of non-admission to the competition, the following material must be prepared:
3.1) Registration Form complete with mobile number and email address written in an unequivocally clear and legible manner. For minors, the signature of the person exercising parental authority is mandatory at the time of registration for the Competition.
3.2) To participate, you must send the Contest organization the song, pertaining to the requested genre, that you intend to perform during the final, of a maximum duration of 5 minutes, via email or by hand preferably via a video with good audio quality, otherwise in good quality mp3/CD/USB audio format together with the base without the voice (option not valid for those who show up with a group). The song will be listened to, judged and if not considered suitable, the performance of an alternative song may be requested, under penalty of exclusion from the Contest itself. The registered person will subsequently receive a phone call or an email to confirm acceptance of the request and admission to the contest.
3.3) Short biography of the artist or group (max 10 lines)
3.4) Only the competitors who will be admitted to the final must send the receipt of the payment of € 20,00 to the address contest@pordenonebluesfestival.it no later than Monday 17 July 2017. Failure to do so will result in exclusion from the competition.
Payment must be made via iban account: IT33X0200812502000100164080 made out to “Associazione Pordenone Giovani” putting in the reason: registration to the “8th Blues & Black Music Contest FVG 2017” or by hand c/o Tune Music Lab – Via Udine 128 – 33170, Pordenone. Sending the material: The material must be sent online, to the e-mail address: contest@pordenonebluesfestival.it or by hand c/o Tune Music Lab – Via Udine 128 – 33170, Pordenone.
Art. 4 The musical genre
The requested genre is "BLUES", extended to the various typologies: TRADITIONAL BLUES, RHYTHM & BLUES, BLUES-ROCK, SWING, FUNKY blues, SOUL blues, ROCK'N'ROLL and COUNTRY blues in both electric and acoustic form, both solo instrumental and vocal.
Art. 5 Preselections
A jury of professionals will pre-select a maximum of 25 competitors from all the compositions, giving priority to those who perform accompanied by one or more "live" musicians. The overall judgment will mainly be given by the following elements: ORIGINALITY, INTONATION AND RHYTHMIC SENSE, GROOVE, IMPROVISATION, SCENE PRESENCE.
To ensure maximum transparency and fairness, the members of this jury will not be able to be part of the jury chosen for the final.
Art. 6 Final
The final of the “Blues & Black Music Contest FVG 2017” will be held on Wednesday 19 July 2017 at 20pm in Piazza XX Settembre in Pordenone (in case of rain, at the Concordia Auditorium).
The organization will provide general amplification, while each instrumentalist will bring their own instrument, except the singers who will have a microphone provided by the service.
The performance of the soloists will be carried out on a pre-recorded basis (previously sent in mp3 format via e-mail or delivered quickly by the competitor) or with live accompaniment by musicians who must be from a minimum of one to a maximum of five elements (competitor excluded), chosen by the participant. For singers who will accompany themselves with an instrument, the judgment will only relate to the vocal or instrumental performance, upon specific request of the competitor.
It is understood that each competitor will be able to register both as a singer and as an instrumentalist with two separate registration forms.
Art. 7 Prizes
All competitors will receive a certificate of participation and each category will be awarded a first, second and third prize, with the technical jury having the possibility to award, at its discretion, other prizes or special mentions.
First prizes: 1 Professional Recording worth €600 and 1 Professional Video worth €600
Second Prizes: 2 professional recordings worth €300 each
Third Prizes: 2 pairs of professional earplugs for musicians offered by Amplifon
7.1) Special Prizes
In parallel to the Contest, “special prizes” will be awarded.
The organization, supported by sponsors, has in fact made available Scholarships that can be used at choice in one of the music schools present in Italy that will receive the amount allocated to them directly from the organization. These prizes will be assigned by analyzing the talents and musical qualities of each competitor, regardless of the category they belong to. The Scholarships will be assigned regardless of the classification of the competitors within the Contest, recognizing among the competitors musicians deserving of receiving such prizes.
7.2) Live performance
The winners of the Contest will also have the opportunity to perform on the stage that will be set up in the Park San Valentino during the Blues Festival weekend.
Prizes must be claimed no later than 30/10/2017.
Art. 8 Privacy Law
The use of personal data will be managed in compliance with the provisions of Legislative Decree 196/2003 containing provisions on the protection of privacy.
Art. 9 Disputes
The organization reserves the right to make any changes to this regulation, if they are necessary to improve the quality of the Competition itself. Participants will be notified of any changes. The organization is not responsible for any damage resulting from occasional accidents to things or people for the entire duration of the event. For any dispute, the Court of Pordenone and in any case the regulation notice is authoritative.
Material delivery methods:
Via email
Short manual: c/o Tune Music Lab – Via Udine 128 – 33170, Pordenone
