Next year marks the 25th anniversary of the Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase, inaugurated in 1993 by the now-defunct Spectrum Weekly and handed over to the Times around 1997. The winner that year was Substance, a Towncraft-era band from Sherwood whose members would later join Big Cats and Red 40, and whose track “Do Nothing King” appears on an LP compilation (also named “Towncraft”) documenting the ’90s punk scene in Little Rock.
The list of champions thereafter is as follows: Ho-Hum, Pokerface, Ashtray Babyhead, Big Cats, Big John Miller & The Direction, Brenda & Ellis, Big Silver, Mojo Depot, Runaway Planet, Salty Dogs, Grandpa’s Goodtime Fandango, The Odds, Hannah Blaylock & Eden’s Edge, Cooper’s Orbit, 607, Velvet Kente, Brother Andy & His Big Damn Mouth, Tyrannosaurus Chicken, Holy Shakes, The Sound of the Mountain, Mad Nomad, Ghost Bones and The Uh Huhs.
Want to join those ranks? Enter by filling out the form here, or by sending a link to your original material on Facebook, Reverbnation, Bandcamp or Soundcloud to showcase@arktimes.com and including the following:
Band Name
Hometown
Date Band Was Formed
Age Range of Members (All ages welcome)
Contact Person
Phone
Email
Submission deadline: December 31, 2016
Performers will compete for an array of prizes worth over $2,500. Acts must perform 30 minutes of original material. All styles are welcome.
Twenty semifinalists will be announced in January. They will compete in groups of four beginning the last Thursday in January and every Thursday throughout February at Stickyz. Weekly winners will then face off in the finals at Rev Room on Friday, March 10.