Lancaster Music Festival 2014

Lancaster Music Festival (UK) 2014 is looking for at least 5 Sonicbids artists to play up to five shows each over the long weekend of October 9-13, 2014. They will be compensating bands up to $1400. The festival is an award winning celebration of Lancasters great musical talent and diversity while also inviting national and international acts to help provide a wide variety of world class music including, but not limited to jazz, blues, world, classical, folk, indie, punk, rock, metal, pop and more. See http://www.lancastermusicfestival.com/ for more information on the event.

Selected artists will be compensated for their performance based on the venue (whether ticketed or flat guarantee), the size of the act and the number of performance slots available but will typically be between 80+GBP (soloists) and 200+GBP (bands) per show with most acts performing a minimum of three shows. All genres are accepted. We have one premium slot that will pay 1K at the headline venue, Lancaster Castle.

The Lancaster Music Festival started in 2009 with 18 venues, 60 acts and 80 shows. That weekend proved one of the busiest that the city had ever seen and this success has built year on year. In 2013 there were over 30 venues hosting over 150 acts and over 200 performances. Roads in and out of the city were blocked, all hotels were fully booked and venues that had posted their busiest weekend ever in the 2012 Festival were reporting increases in trade 15-40%. 2013 saw the festival win Best Tourism Event 2013 for Lancashire and finalist for two Red Rose Business Awards (Best Leisure and Tourism Event, Best Not-For-Profit Business). From an estimate of 4000 festivalgoers in 2009 we now bring in over 20,000 folk into the city (2013 estimate is over 25,000).

Lancaster is unique in the UK. A small historic city with hundreds of musical acts (over 300 registered in 2008 not including classical) representing all genres in a city that boasts over 30 live music venues all within walking distance of each other. The festival will feature well over 100 artists. Sponsors include Lancaster BID, Bay Tourism, Lancaster Chamber of Commerce, Lancaster City Council, Thwaites Beers, Lancaster Brewery, Astounded Sound, all the participating venues, and CME Artist Services who are based in the city and coordinate the festival.

Lancaster boasts views across Northern Europes largest bay (Morecambe Bay) to the English Lake District, a medieval castle in the centre of town (now the headline music venue), diverse pubs, restaurants and nightclubs, two universities, three playhouses, stunning surrounding countryside of moors, mountains, salmon rivers, estuaries, bays and beaches with key railroad links: Lancaster is less than two and a half hours direct on the train from London or Edinburgh or Glasgow. Manchester International Airport is a one and a half hour direct train ride.

Please note that artist travel costs to Lancaster are not covered, nor are we able to book you additional shows outside the festival. Accommodation, where applicable, will be provided for international acts as will work permits for non-EEA musicians.

CME Artist Services has been running tours, exchanges, and events every year since 2001, mainly focused in the UK and has over ten years of experience in sponsoring international acts performing in the UK.