The Greene Space at WNYC & WQXR Announces Contestants in 3rd Annual Battle of the Boros - Series Kicks Off w/ Brooklyn Battle this Fri, Feb. 3 at 7pm

The Greene Space at WNYC and WQXR Announces
The Third Annual BATTLE OF THE BOROUGHS

 Citywide Competition to Discover NYC’s Best Emerging Talent  
Kicks Off with the BROOKLYN BATTLE on Friday, February 3 at 7pm

(February 1, 2012 – New York, NY) – For the past two years, Queens was named the Ultimate Winner at THE BATTLE OF THE BOROUGHS, The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space’s search for NYC’s greatest up-and-coming talent.  Will another borough be able to take the crown this year? 

For the third year in a row, The Greene Space will offer the finest contestants from all five boroughs – ensembles, instrumentalists, singers, DJs, spoken word artists and performance artists of all genres – a chance to compete for an aspiring artist’s dream prize: a featured concert in a hip, downtown Manhattan venue, presented to a global audience via live video webcast; a private recording session in a broadcast-quality studio; and new tech equipment to build their image from home.

On Friday, February 3 at 7pm, the competition will commence with The BROOKLYN BATTLE.  Thirteen contestants will come together to play for a live audience at The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, the innovative and acoustically superb street-level studio at WNYC and WQXR, in hopes of securing a spot at the Ultimate Battle in June 2012.  Competing from all over Kings County will be Latin soul and boogaloo group Spanglish Fly; rock outfit DBCR; experimental roots artists Underground System Afrobeat; soul rock band The Dirty Gems; country folk singer Willy Gantrim; dancehall reggae-fused Brown Rice Family; soul and jazz-tinged Stephanie Rooker & The Search Engine; alternative popsmith band Lord Classic; funk fusion rockers BT3; classical soprano Malesha Jessie; Japanese gypsy rock group Kagero; hip hop artists The Lo Frequency; and soul folk singer Nijae Draine.

The Brooklyn Battle winner will go on to compete against other borough battle winners in the Ultimate Battle (schedule and artists below).  The Ultimate Battle winner will perform an exclusive concert in The Greene Space.

Returning as Battle series emcee is award-winning WQXR host TERRANCE MCKNIGHT, whose Saturday evening show All Ears is a celebration of musical discovery and unexpected cross-genre connections.  LEITAL MOLAD, a producer for WNYC’s Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen, and HSI-CHANG LIN, an associate producer for WNYC’s The Takeaway who also composes music for film, television and web video, will provide colorful commentary throughout the night.  The evening will also feature background videos and interviews with the performers.

“The Battle of the Boroughs experience is as eclectic as walking down a New York City street – the diverse soundscape is a musical potpourri, with a wide range of melodies and rhythms representing every corner of the city,” said MCKNIGHT.  “The most exciting part for me is seeing a community of listeners having a great time, discovering music together, and coming back for more.”

Audiences can represent their borough and hear an eclectic mix of innovative talent from all across NYC during the following Battles in The Greene Space:

March 2:  QUEENS
Jefferson Thomas – alt-country
The Great Apes – funk
Sweet Fix – pop/rock
Shelly Bhushan – alternative soul
Predestined – alt-rock
Sinner Man – alternative soul
Cate Song – singer/songwriter  
Jason Waters – Americana, folk
Una Via – pop/rock
SisterMonk – experimental indie-folk
Tatiana Kochkareva – rock

April 6:  THE BRONX
Tyrone Birkett/Emancipation – post-modern spiritual
Bodoma Grifuna Cultural Band – cultural world music
RPG to the G-Spot – hip-hop
Tape Deck Museum – rap
August-Hill – rap
Chris Santiago – ballad pop
The Dorian Project – progressive, soul

May 4:   STATEN ISLAND
The Headlocks – Americana rock and roll
Fairday Skyline – alternative
The Mick Watley Band – rock and roll
Vantage Point – blues/rock
The Bad Mouth Betties – alternative pop
Omira Soul – Mediterranean soul

June 1:   MANHATTAN
Snehasish Mozumder and Sound of Mandolin (S.O.M.) – global
Portmanteaux – rock
Matthew Foster-Moore – acoustic singer/songwriter
ensemble, et al. – indie-classical percussion ensemble
David D'Alessio – indie pop/folk
Ravens & Chimes – indie rock
Zozo Afrobeat – Afrobeat
Renee' and the Derelicts – blues/rock
Bobby Harden – R&B, soul
The Ks – alternative, indie, rock and roll
KHORIKOS – classical a cappella
Pants Velour – hip-hop, soul, pop/rock
The Bailen Brothers – rock and roll
Julia Joseph – adult contemporary singer-songwriter
Wise Girl – pop/rock

June 29:  THE ULTIMATE BATTLE
Winners from Each Borough Compete for the Grand Prize

Summer 2012:  ULTIMATE BATTLE WINNER’s featured concert in The Greene Space

ALL BATTLES

Where:                        The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WNYC and WQXR
                        44 Charlton Street (at Varick Street)
                        New York, NY 10014
Tickets:                       $15; admission includes a complimentary drink and snacks
                                    $30; admission includes open wine & beer bar and snacks
                                    Tickets for all events are on sale now at www.wnyc.org/thegreenespace
Official Website:         www.thegreenespace.org/battle2012

 

BATTLE OF THE BOROUGHS – The Basics
Beginning in February, and continuing on the First Friday of every month through July, contestants from a select borough will perform in front of a live studio audience, bringing their best for a spot in the Battle’s semi-final round.

Five winners will be selected by the live studio audience, online and mobile audiences watching via live webcast. The following Monday, voting will move on to a two week-long online/mobile-only round, where votes will be accepted at www.thegreenespace.org or by texting an artist’s code to ‘69866.’  Borough winners will be posted on The Greene Space’s official website, Facebook and Twitter.

From there, one act from each borough will compete in the Ultimate Battle, where the Ultimate Winner will be selected by the in-studio audience and a luminary panel of judges.

The final winner will be awarded with a featured concert in The Greene Space, which includes a live video webcast, a professional photo shoot, an HD-DVD and CD of their performance, a professional studio recording session, and a social media package from TekServe consisting of two iPads and headphones.

 

New York Public Radio is New York's premier public radio franchise, comprising WNYC-FM, WNYC-AM, WQXR, and The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, as well as www.wnyc.org, www.wqxr.org and www.thegreenespace.org.  As America's most listened-to AM/FM news and talk public radio stations, reaching 1.1 million listeners every week, WNYC extends New York City's cultural riches to the entire country on-air and online, and presents the best national offerings from networks National Public Radio, Public Radio International, American Public Media, and the British Broadcasting Company. WNYC 93.9 FM broadcasts a wide range of daily news, talk, cultural and music programming, while WNYC AM 820 maintains a stronger focus on breaking news and international news reporting. Classical 105.9 WQXR is New York City’s sole 24-hour classical music station, presenting new and landmark classical recordings as well as live concerts from the Metropolitan Opera, the New York Philharmonic, among other New York City venues, immersing listeners in the city’s rich musical life. In addition to its audio content, WNYC produces content for live, radio and web audiences from The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, the station’s street-level multipurpose, multiplatform broadcast studio and performance space. For more information about New York Public Radio, visit www.nypublicradio.org 

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