The Podunk Bluegrass Music Festival has announced the competitors for this year’s Telefunken Band Competition. The annual invitational event selects the four best entrants who submit applications, and then choose a champion on stage during the August festival.
Festival staff look forward to this each year, both for the entertainment value of the competition itself, and the benefit it offers to acts on the rise.
“The goal of the competition is to give bands looking to make the jump from a local or regional band to one of national recognition. It gives groups an opportunity to present to a wider audience and establish themselves as a band to be ‘watched and heard.’ We believe that the winning band will be able to use the title of Winner Podunk Band Competition as a marketing tool.”
Prior winners have gone on to greater success in the bluegrass industry. Mile Twelve won in 2016, and Colebrook Road in 2015, both of whom are currently making waves in our community.
Chosen to complete in 2019 are the following bands:
- Grain Thief from Boston, MA
- The Plate Scrapers from western Maryland
- Restless Mountain Bluegrass Band from Connecticut
- Switch Factory from Litchfield, CT
Each band will perform twice during the competition. More details about each of them can be found on the Podunk web site.
All four finalists receive a cash prize of $400, and the champions also win a pair of Telefunken M60 FET acoustic instrument microphones, valued at roughly $1200. The top act will also be invited for a main stage spot on next year’s festival.
A panel of judges choose the primary winner, and there is also a trophy given for the Fan Favorite band.
Podunk also hosts a separate Songwriters Competition, with its own submission process. Those applications need to be presented by May 1.
