Best Live Band Blogger Contest

[LaurieBlue]

SOMEONE from here needs to enter and WIN..

Newcastle Brown Ale Launches One-Of-A-Kind Music Blogger Contest

Newcastle Brown Ale, one of America's fastest growing imported beers, announced its "Get Down with Newcastle Brown" contest. The winner of the contest will attend eight of the best music events of 2006/07, starting with the Reading Festival in London, reporting on them as Newcastle Brown Ale's "official music blogger" via a specially created micro-site. The exclusive contest with partners SPIN magazine and Napster is Newcastle's latest venture into the music world, following up on its successful partnering with Green Day last year, according to Bill Wetmore, Scottish & Newcastle's marketing director.

"The goal for our music contest was to once again raise the promotional bar," said Wetmore. "We feel giving the winner a soapbox on our site and in SPIN magazine for their music views plus a close-up look at some of the best music events certainly meets that goal. We love the idea of having our winner – someone who obviously loves both Newcastle and music -- be highly involved in the promotion, not just winning a prize and receiving it in the mail. So we came up with the idea of having an exclusive Newcastle Brown Ale music correspondent. It's going to be the adventure of a lifetime for the winner, while the reports and photos from the road allow the rest of us to tag along for the ride."

Contestants will enter by writing an essay answering the question: "Which artist (band or solo performer; active or no longer performing) is/was the best live performer and why do you think so?" Entrants will submit their responses at newcastlebrown.com between May 1 and June 30, 2006. The essays will be compiled and judged by a panel made up of writers from SPIN and representatives of Newcastle.

The winner will be allowed to bring one guest of his/her choice on the "tour" and will receive two premium seats via SPIN (where possible) for each event. They will also receive full accommodations and spending cash.

"We thought this was a creative and innovative way to celebrate music and get a fresh aspect on the top music events," said Malcolm Campbell, SPIN magazine's publisher. "In addition to being a great escapade, this tour will give the winner tremendous experience in writing and covering music."

"Get Down with Newcastle Brown" kicks off with the Reading Festival in August in the United Kingdom. Other events on the 2006-07 "tour" remain to be confirmed, but may include: CMJ, Download Festival, Billboard Awards, South by Southwest and Coachella.