Derry’s CultureTECH festival has today launched an innovative partnership with Breaking Tunes, the online music portal for Irish bands and artists, which will see at least one up-and-coming band support Duke Special at a free public performance in the city.
Festival organiser, Mark Nagurski, explained: “Since we announced the Duke Special gig we have been inundated with bands from across Ireland keen to get on the bill. One of the reasons we’re organising the festival in the first place is to showcase great talent so we’d love to give a young band or act a chance to support such a successful Northern Irish artist. Partnering with Breaking Tunes to make it happen was an obvious choice as we have already found and researched several acts through the site, including White Collar Boy, REID and Last Days of 1984.”
Bands and artists who are already registered on the Breaking Tunes website can apply directly and those that aren’t yet registered can sign-up for free at Breaking Tunes. The closing date for applications is 06 August after which one, or more, acts will be invited to support Duke Special at an outdoor concert on Saturday, September 1st in Derry city centre. Additionally, at least three acts will be invited to play a showcase event as part of the festival, with CultureTECH covering their travel and accommodation costs.
Angela Dorgan, CEO of First Music Contact, who run the Breaking Tunes website added: “There are currently over 4000 Irish bands profiled on Breaking Tunes which showcases them to both the music industry and fans. For a young band or artist this kind of support slot is a great opportunity to help them develop their profile with both the attending industry delegates and the CultureTECH audience. We’re delighted to be working with the CultureTECH festival and expect there to be a huge demand for this opportunity.”
The CultureTECH festival takes place 29 August to 01 September in Derry and features an industry conference, film screenings, games tournament and live music events across the city. Further information and tickets are available on CultureTECH online.
