This year, D’Addario will power the 2018 AFROPUNK Brooklyn Battle of the Bands, where emerging artists will compete for the chance to play at the AFROPUNK Festival at Brooklyn’s Commodore Barry Park in August.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to partner with D’Addario on AFROPUNK Battle of the Bands Brooklyn,” said Jocelyn Cooper, partner at AFROPUNK. “The program brings together the best of the best in undiscovered talent from our community and I am super excited to see the top 16 bands performances!”
D’Addario will be outfitting the finalists, and semi-finalists, with prize packages that include NYXL strings, D’Addario Accessories, and more. In addition to performing at the Afropunk Festival, the grand prize winner will receive a D’Angelico Premier Bedford solid body guitar, an SJC Tour Series snare drum plus a Marshall Woburn Bluetooth player along with custom D’Addario gear.
D’Addario artists across all brands will participate in the judging each night. Guest judges include Unlocking The Truth, Chris Sholar, Steven Wolf and Casey Benjamin.
“D’Addario is a strong believer in the power of music and supporting both established and up-and-coming musicians both locally and around the world. AFROPUNK brings a fresh voice to the performance community and we’re proud, for the second year, to be a part of their Battle of the Bands. This event has broken incredible bands like Tank and the Bangas and Unlocking the Truth,” said Jeffrey Kaye, director of Artist Relations at D’Addario.
Brooklyn Battle of the Bands will take place at the Knitting Factory from July 25 to 28, with the final round on August 10. The winner will play at the AFROPUNK Festival August 25 to 26.
SEMI-FINALISTS PERFORMING:
July 25: Ida Divine, Cado San, Dynaedyne, Ari Chi
July 26: Naiqui, Quantum Split, Aria Nadège, Monsters on the Horizon
July 27: We Are Band Nerds, Kamilah, JulesAndTheJinks, Te’ La
July 28: Nerika, Leuca, SteveMarve: King, Negus, Nepotism
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