Summerfest is one of the most coveted gigs for many local bands. Unfortunately, it can also be one of the most elusive, given the festival's preference for familiar faces over newcomers. The festival does accept applications, though. Each year Summerfest selects 60 bands to play through the Web site Sonicbids, where bands can post electronic press kits. Bands can apply through this page: www.sonicbids.com/summerfest. They have until March 31.
Summerfest also encourages bands to mail hard copies of their press materials in addition to applying through Sonicbids. They have until March 1 to mail them to:
Attention: Summerfest Production
200 N. Harbor Drive
Milwaukee, WI 53202
[One note of caution I like to share with bands about Sonicbids, though: While Summerfest and some other venues may use that site to assist with their bookings, it's not a particularly respected site for media outreach. Most editors of blogs and magazines don't seem to think much of itthere's a sort of desperation to that site that turns them offso if you're looking for press, not gigs, your best bet is to maintain a clean, informative MySpace page. For all of MySpace's many flaws, it's still the industry standard. I've written this before, but I can't stress it enough: People in the music industry really do scour MySpace pages regularly, so if your MySpace page is out of date or filled with lame jokes instead of actual information, your band is missing out on opportunities you don't even know about.]
