01 Oct 10 International Festival For New Music

Jay Mitchell, Managing Director of the Surface Festival explains, “The decision to relaunch was driven by bands themselves. More and more bands from small independent record labels and self-releasing bands were enquiring to take part. Unsigned bands already involved in the Festival commented that they didn’t feel that the word ‘unsigned’ was relevant in today’s industry. Bands aren’t necessarily looking to get signed anymore, more and more bands are moving away from the restrictions of a record label; they want to do their own thing. The way bands have driven things has made us rethink the way the festival works. It’s not about unsigned bands anymore, but about discovering new music.”

The all new Surface Festival’s contacts and sponsors cover all bases for a band to move forward without necessarily getting signed. Their sponsor list includes a host of manufacturers, including Marshall, Ashdown, Zildjian; recording services; global distributers; promotion companies; band photography; band SEO (search engine optimization), touring services and more. Joel Manan from Marshall says: “We think it’s a great idea that Surface are rebranding and we’re looking forward to working with them next year.”

In 2011 the Surface Festival will be doing 500 shows across 14 cities in the UK and Europe.  Showcases will take place in London, Portsmouth, Bristol, Cardiff, Swansea, Birmingham, Nottingham, Oxford, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Glasgow, Barcelona and Budapest. With a prize pot of £100,000 and a shot at playing the o2 in London in front of a industry panel, all bands and artists should check out the Surface Festival website.

For more info and to sign up see www.surfacefestival.com