Taking time from their busy schedules to judge the Spirit Song and Kingsfest Talent Competitions are a group of experienced music industry professionals, who know the business and want to encourage talented up-and-coming artists.On the panel are Derek Mount and Family Force 5, Tauren Wells of Royal Tailor, Zachary Kelm, founder and president of Q Management Group, and Richard Young, director of Premier Festivals!Today, the judges are listening to audio clips that each of the Top 5 finalists for Spirit Song and Kingsfest posted on www.sonicbids.com during the competitions. Judges will vote for their favorites and rank them from 1-5. The artist/band with the most points wins. The winner will be announced for each competition later this week or as soon as the winner may be contacted and confirmed.Here’s how the scoring will work:Each No. 1 place gets 5 points, a No. 2 ranking gets 4 points, No. 3 gets 3 points, No. 4 gets 2 points and a No. 5 ranking gets 1 point. The artist or band with the most points will win the competition and be asked to perform as the opening band on Thursday, June 28th for competition they entered – either Spirit Song or Kingsfest! In the case of a tie, the winner with the most number of No. 1 votes will win. About the Judges:Derek Mount and Family Force 5!Derek “Chap Stique” Mount, Solomon “Soul Glow Activatur” Olds, Jacob “Crouton” Olds, Joshua “Fatty” Olds, and Nathan “Nadaddy” Currin of Atlanta have been cranking out Christian dance music that defies genre rules practically their whole lives. These five young friends, including three brothers, have released four studio albums and a couple of bonus ones since coming on the scene in 2005. Business Up Front/Party in the Back, Dance or Die, Family Force 5 Christmas Pageant, and III, as well a Business Up Front/Party in the Back Diamond Edition and a remix album, Dance or Die with a Vengeance are on their list of releases.After 3 years of touring festivals and cruising through their Vans Warped Tour, they put their hearts and souls into their latest release – III, while writing and recording the songs all over the nation and beyond.“FAMILY FORCE 5 is a real, authentic community that transcends the music,” Mount says. “We make music that we love, and we hope other people love it too, whether it makes them break-dance, two-step, or simply smile.” (-excerpted and adapted from www.familyforce5.com )Family Force 5 is joining Premier Festivals at Spirit Song on Saturday, June 30th, along with Third Day, NEEDTOBREATHE, Nine Lashes and Sent By Ravens. They are wrapping up the last day of this rocking out 3-day festival at Kings Island. Tauren Wells of Royal Tailor!Here’s the recipe for Royal Tailor: Take a generous helping of soul…splatter it with bouncing rhythms, blistering guitars, engaging vocals, stellar musicianship and catchy pop melodies that make you want to move–all textured with the truth of God’s grace! Rarely has music collided with ministry in a more explosive mash up than on Royal Tailor’s Essential Records debut Black & White. Fusing pop, rock, R&B, hip hop and worship into a distinctive musical blend, Tauren Wells (lead vocals), Blake Hubbard (bass guitar), Jarrod Ingram (drums) and D.J. Cox (guitar) deliver the Gospel in a high-energy style that makes audiences want to dance, pray, shout and sing along.”We like to get down,” Tauren says with a smile. “That’s how we roll. If you ever spend any time with the four of us, you will be dancing. If it’s the Electric Slide, the dougie, free-styling or whatever, at some point we’re going to turn up the music, and we’re going to have a good time. That’s just who we are.” (-excerpted and adapted from www.royaltailoronline.com)Royal Tailor will get the party going at six Premier Festivals this summer and fall! You can catch them at Beach Blast (May 19th), Rock the Park (June 18th), Spirit Song (on Friday, June 29th of the 3-day festival) Kingsfest (on Thursday, June 28th of the 3-day festival), Heartfest (July 21st) and at Pointfest (Sept. 15th) Zachary Kelm, founder and president of Q Management GroupBased out of Franklin, TN, Zachary Kelm founded Q Management Group after gaining years of experience managing such Christian artists as Skillet, the brother/sister duo La Rue and Rebecca St. James. Continuing his relationship with Skillet and adding other up-and-coming bands such as We As Human and Decyfer Down, Q Management Group celebrates its 7th year in business. Continuing their mass appeal and broadening their fanbase, Skillet (along with We As Human) recently came off The Winter Jam Tour Spectacular Tour 2012, which proved to be the No. 1 tour in the nation in attendance for the first quarter of 2012. Kelm has anchored Skillet on four of Premier Festivals this summer and fall. You can catch them live at Wonder Jam (June 23), Kingsfest (Friday, June 29th of the 3-day festival), Heartfest (July 21), and Pointfest (Sept. 15). With experience in managing top names in the Christian music industry, Kelm knows what makes an artist more than just another band and a song more than just a hit on the radio.For more information on Q Management Group and the artists Kelm manages go to www.qmanagementgroup.com Richard Young, director of Premier FestivalsBorn in Winston-Salem, NC, Richard Young graduated from Campbell College with a major in Religion and from Southeastern Seminary with a Master of Divinity with Religious Ed. Young promoted his first Christian concert with Petra at one of the first churches where he served on staff. After many years working at various churches, he finds himself producing Christian music events in unique areas such as theme parks and beaches! With nearly a dozen festivals across the country and in Canada, Premier Festivals reaches tens of thousands of people each year. The festival season kicks off Saturday, May 19th at Beach Blast, in Myrtle Beach, SC and runs full throttle through the fall. The 2012 festivals take a break and then end with a bang on New Year’s Eve and Day at Winterfest on the campus of Liberty University. As the director of Premier Festivals, Young is in charge of the youngest branch of Premier Productions, a 16-year-old promotions company. “A festival offers a unique and fun way to bring top Christian artists and speakers to a place that people already love to visit,” Young says. “We bring in an astounding lineup of Christian music talent and speakers. People look forward to having a great time of fun, fellowship and worship in a unique atmosphere with all that the destination has to offer, too!” For all the details on Premier Festivals, go to www.premierfestivals.com
Judges Announced for Festival Talent Competitions!
