(Alton, IL) – Alton Marketplace and Riverbender.com are announcing the first stage of The 3rd Annual BIG GIG Local Music Show set for Saturday, July 23rd at Alton’s Riverfront Amphitheater.

Band recruitment is now in progress; the postmark deadline for mailed entries is Monday, May 16th or entries can be hand-delivered until 5pm on Wednesday, May 18th. Six Metro East bands will be chosen to perform their original music at the amphitheater, and will be featured on an interactive website.

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A volunteer selection committee will narrow the entries down to six finalists, and ticket buyers will vote for their favorite band which will determine the winner. The band that sells the most tickets will get first pick of their time slot to play and will also receive a prize package that includes several promotional tools to advance their music career, including: airtime and feature interview on WLCA 89.9 FM, an electronic press kit, a DVD of their BIG GIG performance, $250 in free recording time at the studio of their choice, a promotional article in the Telegraph and the featured artist spot on Riverbender.com.

Tickets will be $10.00 in advance or $12 at the door, and $1.00 from every ticket sold will be donated to the Jacoby Arts Center to advance their live music endeavors. Each band will receive a portion of the proceeds for all tickets they sell.

The event is open to all genres of music; any band that is interested in entering can visit www.AltonMarketplace.com to download an application to be sent in along with a band photo and an audio file, CD or video of at least three original songs that best represent their music style. Bands may also choose to include one optional cover song in their entry package.  For more information, please contact Sara McGibany at: 463-1016.

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