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Music, music, music The Midwest Music Conference and Film Festival is entering its third year here in Lexington, KY, and is bigger than ever. The conference, which will be held at The Hyatt, will bring to town dozens of music industry insiders, aspiring film makers, radio professionals, and over 100 bands and musicians from all over the country. Stephen Zimmer, founder and event organizer, says that the conference is good for Kentucky. "It has steadily grown over the past three years, and I am hearing far less negative comments about Kentucky than before. We really did have an uphill battle against Kentucky stereotypes, but once here, the industry people found a very quality city with very talented people and a lot of potential." The bands are coming to Lexington from as far away as Los Angeles and Florida. "We have some of Los Angeles' hottest modern rock prospects," Zimmer explains, "such as JED, Fighting Iris, and Weedeater." He continues, "We have one of New York's top rising hip hop acts in Reyn, we have Keep, a fast-rising prospect out of Florida, The Melismatics, based out of Minnesota, and Chain Poets, one of Atlanta's big buzz bands. These are just a few, but it definitely demonstrates the national nature of the event, without a doubt." Zimmer, who is a great supporter of local music as well, has not left out bands from this region: Bryan Himes, Lucid Grey, Astrolyte, Wild Ride, Attic Down, and Melanie Johnson to name a few, are just some of the acts that will be representing Central Kentucky at the conference. The MMCFF is not just bunches of bands playing at clubs all weekend; it is also a film festival, which is new to the conference this year, and a series of panels and workshops, taking place Friday and Saturday at The Hyatt for those who are registered for the conference. These panels usually involve anywhere from 6-9 industry professionals addressing a certain topic, with subjects such as how to plan a smart demo project, professional management, independent labels, publishing, and many more. (The full list is available online at www.midwestmusicconference.net/panelschedule.html). The panels are largely interactive and discussion driven, so the audience can essentially direct the panel to address what they want to learn about most. There is also mentoring available, in which a band can have a one-on-one session with a solid producer or label person-kind of like a private critique/listening session. There are workshops as well, which this year includes planning your own home studio, video editing, sound tracking, and more. Another new element to the conference this year will be keynote speakers, most notably, Pat DiNizio of The Smithereens, who will be giving a private solo performance and meet/greet session for conference registrants. In its junior season, The MMCFF is starting to achieve something that has been difficult for Lexington events to accomplish on a national level: legitimacy. As word gets out around the country, and more bands and musicians become interested, the conference will continue to grow and could someday be held in the same regard as South by Southwest or the PMRC. Info, www.midwestmusicconference.net.
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MMCFF Music Schedule
* Thursday, 22 August |
i | MMCFF Film Schedule NOTE: Schedule subject to change. For full schedule, go to www.midwestmusic- * Thursday, 22 August |
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