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ROUNDS 1 & 2: Madison Live
SEMI-FINALS & FINALS (Round 3 & 4): Madison Theater

DATES: December 2017 through March 2018

WHAT IS IT?
The Madison Theater Band Challenge is a multi-round battle of the bands competition with over $6,000 in cash and prizes up for grabs. Shows will take place at the historic Madison Theater in Covington, Kentucky, just across the river from downtown Cincinnati, starting in mid-December 2017 and going through March 2018. Rounds 1 & 2 will take place in Madison Live, our new state-of-the-art 300-capacity venue adjacent to the Madison Theater. The Semi-Final and Finals rounds will be in the Theater (the big room).

HOW DOES MY BAND ENTER? WHO CAN ENTER?
We are accepting entries now. Musical acts of ALL ages and ALL genres are welcome to enter. There is NO ENTRY FEE! There are NO restrictions on what you can or cannot say or wear on stage. Say whatever you want! You must, however, be based reasonably close to the Greater Cincinnati area to be selected. We will select bands to participate and start assigning 1st Round dates as entries come in. The 1st Round will begin in late December. Enter HERE.

WHAT CAN WE WIN?
CASH, for starters. The 1st place overall band will win $2,500, with the remaining finalists all receiving prizes, including cash, recording time at MOONLIGHT STUDIOS, SHOWS at Madison Theater and Madison Live, custom merch for your band from ARNAR CLOTHING, photo posters from ZIEGELMEYER PHOTOGRAPHY, and much more. Check out all the prizes HERE.

HOW DO WE WIN?
Scoring is a 50/50 combination of fan voting and judging. Each paying audience member gets a ballot at the door to vote for their top 3 bands. A 1st place vote is worth 3 points, a 2nd place vote is worth 2, and a 3rd place vote is worth 1 point. Our panel of judges is made up of key people from the Cincinnati music world, and will rate bands on musical skill, originality, stage presence, and total production. For each show, half of the bands will be eliminated and half will advance to the next round. So if 6 bands play, 3 will advance to the next round.

Results will be posted on this website and on the Madison Theater Facebook page by Noon the day after each event. Rounds are separated by about 3 weeks, so that you don't wear out your crowd and can build anticipation for the next round's show. Click LIKE on Madison Theater's Facebook so you can keep up with the latest Band Challenge developments.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATING?
We always strive to make this a great experience, and the following are some key benefits the bands have told us they received from participating:
-Playing in front of new people.
-Playing well-attended shows.
-Exposure of band name, increased online traffic, and show offers.
-Experience playing in a large, well-known venue.
-Experience of the repetition of setting up, tearing down, and sticking to set lengths.
-Meeting and creating relationships with other area bands.
-Showcasing in front of judges and getting feedback.
-Earning future shows at our venues.
-The chance to win great prizes!

CONTACT US: CINCINNATIBANDCHALLENGE[AT]GMAIL.COM