CMJ Music Marathon Oct. 13-17 NYC
CMJ Music Marathon is very appropriately named. At most music festivals there are a couple of conflicts but you can get to most everything. This is not the case here. There are hundreds of bands and dozens of venues all taking part throughout the city. From world famous such as Brooklyn Bowl, Terminal 5, BB Kings, and Webster Hall, to the known local spots such as Alphabet Lounge, Rockwood Music Hall, The Bitter End, and The Cutting Room.
The best part of this fest is the ability to purchase 1 pass and go to any venue for any act provided they aren’t at capacity. You can see 5 bands in 5 different spots easily in the course of one evening and then hop across the street for 2 more.
Music isn’t the only thing on the menu. They had daytime programming and speakers. Titles included: Shaping the Future: Music, Technology and Creative Collaboration, Building Instruments For Musical Expression, and What will you do with IBM Watson? Rounding out the entertainment were speakers. On the menu were radio station programming directors, record label execs, pr execs, producers and people all throughout the industry.
The majority of the fest features up and coming bands, but there are also some bigger names like The Word, and Amy Helm. I caught a showcase by CEG presents at Fontana’s on Tuesday the 13th. I saw Go Man Go, Chromatropic, Space Bacon, and Space Carnival. I had only listened to 2 of these prior to seeing them play and I am now a fan of 2 new bands as a result. The best part of this festival is discovering a ton of bands that you don’t know and can add to your list of acts to see when they play again.
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