My Stage Exit, Brady Parks and the IndyAnns, Red Yeti, I Was a Wave and Bryan Frates will compete in the semi-final round for the chance to be Salt Lake City’s first ever RAWard: Musician of the Year.
The semi-final round will take place on Nov. 15 from 7:00 to midnight, The Grand @ The Complex, Salt Lake City. Tickets must be bought in advance in order to attend. Each ticket costs $15, but that allows entrance into all of the RAWard competitions. RAW is an organization that gives an outlet for all facets of indie artists to express themselves. The semi-final round will showcase the finalists from all the art categories.
Frontman for Red Yeti Kimball Barker said the event will be huge and definitely worth it.
“It’s going to be a cultural experience worth talking about,” Barker said. “There’s an interesting indie community that will be there. Everyone will be able to experience other artists of more than just music. But of course the best is last. The night will top off with music. After everyone has seen everything else they can come enjoy a rocking show that requires the audiences’ participation.”
Guitarist for I Was a Wave, Matt Davies, couldn’t believe it when he found out his band had advanced to the semi-final round.
“I was thrilled because there are so many other good artists,” Davies said. “The last time we played at RAW it was a lot of fun, and I never expected that we would have the chance to play again. There’s not really an increase of pressure on us, but we are very excited for the show.”
Davies said the band is hoping to advance because of the content of what they write.
“We write a lot about what we’re passionate about,” Davies said. “I hope the crowd pays attention especially to our lyrics. Our purpose when writing is to let our feelings about life, God and love. It’s like we’re almost offering our advice to them. I hope through our music people can have experiences they can relate to.”
Steve Simmons, bassist of My Stage Exit, said the band shares similar expectations for the show.
“Our music is how we communicate to audiences,” Simmons said. “We want to share a musical message that is inspirational. With or without lyrics, our music has the power to touch people. It’s a universal language that we want to let out.”
Simmons said there is so much talent gathered together at the RAWard event that people are sure to get something out of it.
“We’re going to keep on writing music,” Simmons said. “We’re here to help people.”
Lead singer for My Stage Exit Willy Dalton sees the RAWard as a great cross-promotional tool.
“All types of artists come together and share material,” Dalton said. “All genres and diversions of art come together and build and learn from each other.”
Jerry Popescu said the band is tightening everything up to get ready for the show.
“We’re all stoked for the process,” Popescu said. “We’re going through our set and making sure everything is ready. It’s going to be our chance to represent Salt Lake City and show everyone the decent music scene there.”
