For the past couple of months, the first stages of a new online song and video contest for Oakland bands and artists have been kicking along:

We are in the first year of the Oaktown Music Festival, an online based ‘battle of the bands’ style competition specifically for Oakland based bands & solo artists. We opened up the nomination period from 10/1-11/10 and received over 2,200 nominations for over 250 bands/artists.

Currently we have narrowed down the finalists to 15 songs by a solo artist, 30 songs by a band, & 25 music videos by a band or solo artist. These finalists are currently in the hands of our All Star Jury Panel featuring reps from OM Records, Pandora, EBX, KALX, Fantasy Recording Studios, NPR’s Snap Judgement, & Oaklandish.

The winners will receive a range of amazing prizes including free recording time, photo shoots and tons of Oakland small business swag. The winners will be announced next week, with our winners party on 11/15 + 11/16 at Awaken Cafe.

Overall, the Oaktown Music Festival seems to be a great opportunity to learn about the best and the brightest emerging from the Oakland music scene. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the winners when they’re announced next week! As stated above, the winners party will take place on November 15th and 16th at Oakland’s Awaken Cafe.