We would like to welcome you to the American Country Showcase competition at Six Strings in downtown Bloomington, IL.  The sponsors of this competition: Circle K, Diamond D Graphics, Gateway Entertainment Group, TW Cross, and 615 Entertainment have put together an incredible opportunity for talented artists to compete for recognition at a national level.

The winner of this competition will receive:
 

• Nashville Recording Session
• Professionally Designed Website
• Professional Photo Session
• Management Agreement
• Booking Agreement
• National Distribution of Single

 We are currently looking for local sponsorship to cover travel expenses to Nationals for the winner of our regionals.
 
Six Strings will be hosting two rounds of the American Country Showcase competition.  The first round will be held on Wednesday evenings in the spring and the second round will be held on Friday evenings during the summer.  Each round will consist of  seven competitions and can accommodate up to eight contestants   The winner of each weekly competition will advance to the Regional Qualifier on the eighth week.  The winner from each of our two Regional Qualifiers will advance to the Regionals to compete against contestants from other venues.  Once you win a Local Qualifier, you do not need to compete again, until the Regional Qualifiers.
 
In the initial phase of the competition you will be allowed to compete using your own accompaniment.  This means you can prepare your own background sound track on CD or MP3, you can play an instrument while you sing, or bring in a friend to accompany you.  You will also be required to sing a second song acapella.  Background soundtracks cannot contain vocals.

For Regional Qualifiers and Regionals, all contestants will perform with a live band provided by Six Strings or American Country Showcase.  Once you win a competition, provide us with the music you want the band to play so we can give them adequate time to rehearse your songs.  You will be provided time with the band earlier in the day prior to your competition to rehearse.
 
We have been working with the National Office for American Country Showcase to ensure the judging for the competition is conducted fairly and gives each contestant an equal and fair opportunity to win based on their singing and entertainment talent.  The judging for the preliminary rounds will be conducted as follows:
 
Preliminary Rounds:

• A single ballot will be given to every customer entering at the door.
• Each ballot will allow a customer to vote for a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place contestant.  These ballots will be scored as 1 point for 3rd place, 2 points for 2nd place, and 3 points for 1st place.
• After all of the contestants have competed, they will be asked to come back up on stage to be re-introduced to the audience before the judging begins
• This is a serious country music talent search looking to identify the contestant that can best represent the Region at Nationals.  The judges (customers) will be encouraged to vote for the artist with the most talent that performed the best in the night's .competition
• Periodically, secret judges will be on location from our sponsors who have the ability to cast a vote.  If there is a secret judge present, a single vote by that judge will be worth 25 points for 1st, 15 points for 2nd, and 10 points for 3rd.
• After presenting the competitors on stage, the ballots will be completed, collected and tallied.  The winner will be announced on stage as soon as the ballots are tallied.  No ballots will be accepted until the competition has completed.

 Note:

• We intend to have agents and representatives from 615 Entertainment present periodically at some of the competitions to provide feedback to contestants.  The first time is scheduled for March 24th.
• Remember, we are trying to attract the most talented competitors to this competition.  If you do not win, it does not mean that you are not a good singer.  Talent scouts may still be interested in representing you and you can always sign up for another available date later in the competition.
• Your odds of winning the competition increase based on the number of friends and family you bring to cheer you on and vote for you.  One week in advance of your competition, we will be providing you with some electronic information you can use to help promote your performance on social networks and email.

Regionals and Nationals:

Judging for Regionals and Nationals will include professional judges in the music industry.

 
All contestants will be given a time before the club opens to come in and get set for their performance later that evening.  Each contestant will be given a 15 minute window to meet with the sound engineers, identify how they want to be set up on stage including any channels or mixes they may require.  Set-up and performance times on the day that you compete will be provided to you one week in advance of your competition.  If you have a CD or MP3 player with your music, you would give that to the engineer at this time.  You will be given the time you need to make sure you are comfortable and ready to compete.
 
Our engineers will do the best job possible at providing you with a quality performance.  Our engineers are professional and talented at what they do.
 
Your competition will be recorded on High Definition video which will be made available to American Country Showcase.  The video is the property of American Country Showcase and can be used at their discretion to resolve disputes or promote American Country Showcase.  Your performance will also be displayed on the big screen and televisions throughout the club as it is being recorded.
 
Rules of American Country Showcase do not permit us from using lighting or atmospheric effects to highlight your performance.  The stage will be set up in a standard format with a set light configuration that will be used for all of the competitors.
 
Thanks again for your participation in this incredible opportunity for rising stars.  We are excited at Six Strings to be able to participate and we will do everything we can to make the event as memorable as possible for you and your friends.
 
Following the event, please feel free to stay around for some karaoke until close...
 
Thanks,
Dan and Lynn Rolph
Owners, Six Strings Club