Rock the Mall: A Teen Music Competition @ Top of the Park

Rock the Mall is a teen music competition at Top of the Park produced by the Ann Arbor Summer Festival in partnership with Neutral Zone. This new event is designed to encourage and support a new generation of musicians by offering young artists an opportunity to perform at the festival as well as educating them about the music business. There are 5 slots reserved for Sonicbids artists to participate in this competition./n/nRock the Mall is a teen music competition at Top of the Park produced by the Ann Arbor Summer Festival in partnership with Neutral Zone. This new event is designed to encourage and support a new generation of musicians by offering young artists an opportunity to perform at the festival as well as educating them about the music business. There are 5 slots reserved for Sonicbids artists to participate in this competition.



Grand Prize:

The winner of the one-night competition (determined by a panel of guest judges along with online votes from community) will receive a comprehensive artist development package with the tools necessary to take their musical aspirations to the next level. This grand prize includes access to and services from a dream team of Ann Arbor’s leading creative professionals and industry insiders, including:

• Electronic press kit redesigned by Phire Branding Company


• A photo shoot and promotional images by Myra Klarman


• Career coaching with talent agents from Fleming Artists


• Studio A2 performance and interview on ann arbor's 107one


• Headlining show at The B-Side, the Neutral Zone's concert venue


• A 3-month standard Sonicbids membership

RTM is open to all unsigned bands and amateur teen musicians in the greater Washtenaw County area looking to make their mark on the music scene. All genres of music are welcome – pop to rock, hip-hop to electro – but participants must be 18 years old or younger. Bands, vocal groups and solo acts are eligible. All applicants must have a performance set of 20-minutes of all ages appropriate material if selected. A lineup of six groups and one alternate will be chosen from all the RTM artist submissions.



The competition will take place on Tuesday, June 28 from 7:00–9:30 pm on the Rackham Stage at Top of the Park. Online voting will begin the night of show and continue for one week; the winner will be announced on the closing night of the festival, Sunday, July 10.


Supporting Programs and Resources:

The Ann Arbor Summer Festival and the Neutral Zone will host a teen workshop on "How to Create and Submit an EPK" in early January 2011. Musicians interested in applying for RTM should strongly consider attending this free workshop to learn the ins and outs of how to submit a standout application. The EPK artists create can then be used by artists to set up new shows and self-promote the band in a professional and dynamic way. Visit annarborsummerfestival.org for more information.