Sepoy Saloon Showdown 2016: Official Contest Regulations A: Introduction & Outline Have you ever wanted to take your band from the garage to a big festival audience? The Lucknow Kinsmen Club is offering the chance to wow the side stage at the 8th Annual Music In The Fields (MITF) Country Music Festival on August 27th, 2016 in Lucknow, Ontario. This completely non-profit festival is rapidly growing and expected to host 8 000 fans for its 3 concert days this summer. Stars set to shine on the main stage this August will include: Lee Brice, Dean Brody, Frankie Ballard, Jason Blaine, Tebey, Madeline Merlo, Jo Jo Mason and The Lovelocks. For this contest, Music In The Fields is seeking Ontario musicians and bands that would like to play on the festival’s Emerging Artist Sidestage during the Saturday afternoon/evening of MITF 2016. This side stage will operate during changeover of the main stage performers, and will be located inside the ‘Sepoy Saloon’ (festive gardens) facing outwards towards the main audience grounds (adjacent to the main stage).

Round 1:

Those bands/musicians who wish to enter the contest will submit a link to a video of themselves singing a full song; either an original or a cover song, to MITF. Videos will be assessed and marked based on a set of criteria (noted below). The four video selections with the highest marks will continue on to round two of the contest.

Round 2: The four selected videos will be placed on the MITF website (www.musicinthefields.ca) where the public can go to vote for their favourite band/musician that they would like to see perform on the side-stage at MITF 2016. Individuals can vote once every 24 hours during the voting period.

Round 3:

After this voting period, one band will be officially named as the grand prize winner and

side-stage performer at MITF 2016 via multiple media sources. The winning selection will be based on the total amount of votes that the band/musician accumulates from the public on the festival website during the allotted time frame.* The grand winner will be the band/musician who receives the most public votes during the contest. The band with the second most votes will also be chosen as the official runner-up and named as a side-stage performer during MITF. *

Music In The Fields and the Lucknow Kinsmen Club reserves the right to withhold this opportunity from any winning band who does not follow rules and regulations or conducts itself in a manner that is not deemed appropriate for this public event. All rights are reserved by the Lucknow Kinsmen Club.

Upon being selected, the winning bands/musicians will communicate in detail via telephone and email with MITF staff to prepare for the festival day.

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Lucknow & District Kinsmen Club. 2016.

B: Prizes - Two winners (bands or solo artists) will be chosen to play at MITF2016 on Saturday, August 27th, 2016. - This Grand Prize Winner will play 2 x 22 minute sets during the early evening, including a set taking place immediately before the headliner Lee Brice takes the main stage. The winner will first play at 6:15pm and again at 9:15pm. (Times subject to change) A $250.00 honorarium will be offered to the grand winning band upon completion of their sets at MITF2016. - The Runner-up Winner will perform 2 x 22 minute sets during Saturday afternoon by taking the side stage at 3:45pm and again at 4:30pm. (Times subject to change) A $250.00 honorarium will be offered to the runner-up band upon completion of their set at MITF2016. - The winning bands/musicians will also receive: - 1 complimentary weekend admission pass for each playing member to attend both the Thursday, Friday & Saturday shows, as well as access to the MITF Official Backstage VIP Tent for meals, beverages and other refreshments throughout the day on Saturday only. - 2 weekend campsites. (a solo artist winner would receive 1 campsite) - VIP parking passes for 3 vehicles. (one spot if a solo artist) - 3 additional backstage passes to share for the band (to alternate between friends, family, etc.) - The band will also benefit from several months of steady social media marketing that highlights the contest, its contestants, and ultimately its grand prize winner & runner-up. This contest will drive your sound and talents directly to the public. So get on board, win a great opportunity and show them your stuff !!

C: Application & Video Submission Procedure 1. Go to www.musicinthefields.ca - click Artists tab, then the Sepoy Saloon Showdown tab - download the Showdown Application file (pdf) (doc) - download the Official Rules & Regulations file (pdf) (doc) 2. Read the official rules and regulations and fill out the application. 3. Ensure the application is complete and accurate.

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Lucknow & District Kinsmen Club. 2016.

4. Scan and email the completed application back to the email address by Tuesday May 10th (11:59:59 pm): [email protected]. Include with this email a link to your video posted on Youtube.com. (Video specifics listed below). Contact [email protected] if you are having difficulty submitting your video or if you have a question concerning the contest. A confirmation email will be sent from MITF upon the receipt of your submission. 5. Bands/musicians will be contacted between May 11th – May 14th by MITF staff if your video is successful in making it to the 2nd round of the Showdown contest.

D: Showdown Contest Timeline 1. Monday April 18th (00:00:00am) – Tuesday May 10th (11:59:50pm) 2016: During this period, MITF invites independent Ontario bands/musicians to submit a video of them playing an original or cover song to [email protected]. 2. Wednesday May 11th – Saturday May 14th: MITF will contact (via telephone or email) the performers whose videos successfully make it through round one of the contest. The videos submitted by these finalists will have met a series of requirements that will be laid out by MITF. If a response is not received within 48 hours of attempting contact, MITF will disqualify the submission and choose the next successful submission. 3. Monday May 16th (00:00:00am) – Sunday June 5th (11:59:59pm): Four selected finalists will have their videos placed on the festival website www.musicinthefields.ca. During this time the public will vote for the finalist by selecting them on the website. 4. Shortly after June 5th– MITF will officially announce the winning bands/musicians that will be performing on the Emerging Artist side-stage at MITF 2016. 5. Saturday August 27th – Winning bands/musicians will be onsite in Lucknow and on the Emerging Artist side-stage playing at MITF 2016 within the allotted time frame.

E: General Band/Musician Contest Requirements 1. The grand winner band/musician must be capable of performing 2 x 22 minute sets. The runner-up must also be capable of performing 2 x 22 minute sets. They must be available and on-site at MITF between 1pm and 11pm on Saturday, August 27th 2016, unless specifically otherwise instructed after Round 2. 2. Acceptable musical genres that MITF is seeking include: Country, Rock-Country, Honky-Tonk, Alternative-Country, and Bluegrass. The festival gears towards high energy and performance enthusiasm. All Rights Reserved.

Lucknow & District Kinsmen Club. 2016.

3. A maximum of eight band members are permitted in a band/act. Alternates may be permitted on festival day with special permission from MITF, however adding more band members after submitting the video and application is not permitted. Bands/Musicians are considered as acts containing either several members or solo artists. 4. No false claims or misrepresentation of persons. 5. Bands/Musicians are permitted to play original and cover songs by other established artists both on stage and in their video. Original songs must be specifically noted as such in the application. Cover songs must have the original artists identified. 6. Bands/Musicians applying for the contest must not currently have a single charting in the top 50 on BDS charts. All other independently produced acts residing in Ontario are welcome to apply with a video submission. The majority of band members must be permanent residents of Ontario. 7. Bands/Musicians must not have an established and ongoing recording contract with a major label. Independent releases are acceptable. Please contact MITF if you feel your label may be considered ineligible. 8. All band/act members must sign a release form that grants MITF staff certain rights to the use of the video content for marketing purposes (further information is listed below in the ‘Release’ section of this document). 9. Legal means must be used by bands to attract voters during the voting stages. Provincial and Federal law dictates the limits on acceptable methods of solicitation of votes. 10. Any band member or person closely associated with a band member who is caught trying to hack and manipulate the voting in any way will have their band removed from the competition.

F: Responsibilities & Notes for the Winning Acts While Performing at MITF 2016 1. All members of the band must be 19 years of age or older. 2. Acceptable public manners are required while bands/musicians are performing on stage. Bands/Musicians must refrain from excessive cursing, obnoxious behaviour, nudity, or topics that many may find offensive. 3. Any band member or musician that appears to be heavily under the influence of alcohol or drugs while performing on stage will result in MITF staff turning off the band’s power and sound immediately. Their remaining privileges at MITF will be completely revoked at the discretion of MITF. 4. Bands/Musicians are permitted to play both original and cover songs by other established artists both on stage and in their video. Please note the original songwriter of your video within the video. All Rights Reserved.

Lucknow & District Kinsmen Club. 2016.

5. The use of pyrotechnic displays and fog machines while playing on stage is not permitted. 6. MITF production staff will provide the power, lighting and sound (backline) for the winning band/musician while on stage, as well as a drum kit. (Special addition requests to the existing drum kit must be approved by MITF prior to August 1st, 2016). 7. The winning band/musician is welcome to sell merchandise inside the merchandise tent during performances and intermission time. MITF staff or event volunteers will not be provided to assist with merchandise sales. Please provide your own seller. Music In The Fields will not request a percentage of the sales go to them. Cash only sales are recommended. 8. The winning band/musician will provide a full set-list for the songs they will plan on stage, to MITF two weeks prior to August 27th, 2016. The sooner this can be received by MITF the better to ensure both winning bands are not duplicating song performances. MITF will share the set list with the other winning band as soon as it receives your list. 9. No background music or pre-recorded music is permitted when performing on stage. Contact us directly if you have further questions regarding this issue. 10. Winning bands/musicians must agree to work with MITF production staff during the set up and take down of your stage arrangements. MITF production staff reserve the right to set up and take down the set (in conjunction with the performers) in a way that best suits MITF and TNR production staff. 11. MITF is not responsible for transporting winning bands/musicians to or from MITF 2016, however assistance will be provided by MITF staff to help the winning band move their equipment back and forth to the Sepoy Emerging Artist side stage from their vehicles. 12. MITF reserves the right to turn off the performers’ sound while onstage if the act is deemed to be not following MITF regulations. 13. The prizes outlined previously for winners have no redeemable cash value and cannot be exchanged or transferred. 14. MITF is not responsible for any personal injury that might occur to winning bands/acts while playing on stage or during setting up or taking down of sets and equipment.

G: Video Submission Requirements 1. Video and song submitted must not surpass 6 minutes in length. 2. Acceptable video submissions will be set as a link to a video of your band on Youtube.com. The video must be original, include all band members, and must be performed by the band. The song itself can be a cover song. All Rights Reserved.

Lucknow & District Kinsmen Club. 2016.

3. Video submissions will be evaluated by MITF committee members to determine the four finalists that will move on to round two. Marks out of 10 will be given for each of the following video criteria: sound quality & ability, performance energy, and overall impression. All decisions are final. 4. Video submissions must not show any recognizable logos of any kind, except for logos that specifically reference the band/musician and were created by the band/musician or by associated partners. MITF suggests blurring any non-associated logos in your video before submitting. 5. Acceptable public manners are required in the video. Please refrain from cursing, obnoxious behaviour, nudity, offensive topics, or substance abuse, in order to be seriously considered as a finalist. 6. Bands/Musicians must grant MITF the release to use their submitted video link for any future marketing-associated purposes performed by MITF. MITF will not pass the video rights to any third party without the consent of the submitting band/musician. 7. The use of background music in your video is not recommended. 8. There is no fee to enter a band/musician in the contest. 9. There is no limit as to the number of bands/musicians who wish to submit a video and application. 10. Bands/musicians are only permitted to submit one video with their application into the contest. 11. Odds of becoming a finalist depend on the volume of submissions in round 1. In round 2, the odds of winning either spot are 1 in 2. 12. In the event of a tie in round 1, a random draw will determine the finalists continuing to round 2. In the event of a tie in votes in round 2, winners will be determined by their previous video score. If a tie remains after comparing scores, a random draw will determine the winner(s). 13. During the application process in round 1, as well as the voting period in round 2, the use of any automated system including robotic or form filling software to enter or participate in this contest is prohibited and will result in the disqualification of entries by any band using such assistance. 14. Any associated artwork within the video must be original and not infringe on the work, rights and copyrights of other artists. 15. Submission of a video during Round 1 of the contest does not guarantee a spot in either Round 2 or Round 3 of the contest.

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Lucknow & District Kinsmen Club. 2016.

H: Video Scoring At the end of Round 1, a panel of judges, which include members of the Music In The Fields committee, will evaluate all entries and anonymously assign scores to each video based on the following criteria: 1. Voice Quality and Instrument Talent

/10

2. Stage Presence

/10

4. Overall Impression

/10 = /30

Judges will then tally their totals. The five bands/acts that have the highest combined score will proceed to Round 2 of the contest, where they will compete for votes to be named the Grand Prize Winner and Runner-Up of Sepoy Saloon Showdown 2016. Round 2 begins on May 16th, and voters will be able to vote at www.musicinthefields.ca for their favourite of the four finalist acts.

Good luck, thanks for participating, and for goodness sake have some fun with Music In The Fields! Cheers, MITF2016

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Lucknow & District Kinsmen Club. 2016.

All Rights Reserved.

Lucknow & District Kinsmen Club. 2016.