Thursday-Saturday, June 8-10, at 20 Downtown Venues (both 21-and-over and all-ages); $24.95 or $10: With 140 indie bands and dozens of industry panelists, the first-ever Hyperactive Music Festival is like a three-day indie fantasy camp. Festival Director Jenny Gamble says she and Executive Director Allison Shaw wanted to create a music festival that was patterned after Austin’s now world-famous South by Southwest. “We wanted to put something together that could educate local bands on how to do everything from put a press kit together to how to tour or where to go from there,” explains Gamble. “We also agree with the mayor in that we, too, don’t want to keep saying, ‘Albuquerque should be more like Austin,’ and instead in five years have people in other cities saying, ‘We should be more like Albuquerque.’” The festival begins on Thursday, June 8, with an exclusive VIP Party at Sauce/Raw featuring all of the panelists who will be speaking on Saturday. Guests who have purchased their VIP badges will be able to hobnob with people from XM Radio, MTV and Sony, to name a few, as well as many panelists such as Jamie Proctor of cdbaby.com, who focus more exclusively on independent artists. On Saturday, from 11 a.m.-6 p.m., VIP guests can take part in a multitude of panels with topics ranging from digital distribution and Internet music to information on touring and publicity. Finally, for those who don’t want to shell out the $24.95 for all-access badges, you can pay just $10 to see 140 bands at 20 different local venues Downtown beginning on Friday and continuing through Saturday evening. There are a great many local acts as well as bands from all over the United States and as far away as Canada. Venues range from staples such as Burt’s Tiki Lounge to less obvious locals like the Central Connection café. The panels are all-ages, and on Friday and Saturday, all Central Connection and Windchime Gallery shows are all-ages. All other shows are 21-and-over. For more info on the festival, be sure to visit hyperactivefestival.com, where you can also prepurchase VIP badges and concert wristbands. To volunteer at the festival, e-mail Gamble at jennygamblemusic@hotmail.com," or call her at 688-6678.
Hyperactive Music Festival
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