Competing Bands Announced for the 2nd Annual Downtown Albany Blues Music Contest

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© 2012 Julia Zave

ALBANY, NY (04/16/2013)(readMedia)-- The City of Albany and the Downtown Albany Business Improvement District (BID) announce the 2nd Annual Downtown Albany Blues Music Contest participants to be hosted in ten downtown Albany venues Friday, May 3, 2013 from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM. The public is invited to come out for this free event and vote for their favorite acts of the evening.

"Entertainment is key to the vibrant culture of Albany's Downtown," said Mayor Gerald D. Jennings, "I am happy that the Downtown Albany Blues Music Contest is back for a second round as the BID continues to draw the Capital Region and beyond to the heart of our great City. I wish all of the competing bands the best of luck and look forward to seeing the winners perform on stage at Alive @ 5 this summer."

First and second placed bands will perform at the City of Albany's Alive @ 5 music series. The date and time for the Alive @ 5 performance is to be announced. The first placed act will additionally perform at the BID's Downtown Albany Fall Car Show on October 12, 2013 from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

This year's competition includes a new scoring method, 50% of the vote will be designated by popular vote, and 50% of the vote will be designated by a judge, Steve Daub, a 2012 inductee into New York State's Blues Hall of Fame. Daub has been the radio host of WRPI's Stormy Monday Blues for the past 13 years.

"Nearly 1,000 music lovers moved from venue to venue last year enjoying great music against our historic back drop," said Georgette Steffens, Executive Director, BID, "my favorite comments of the night were that Pearl Street felt like Bourbon Street."

The 10 selected blues acts that will be performing on May 3rd include:

• Joe Lowry and the Second Mile Blues Band | 74 State Hotel

• J.V. & the Cutters | Blue 82

• Tom Healey Band | Franklin's Tower

• Sly Fox and the Hustlers | The Hollow Bar + Kitchen (Previously the Bayou)

• The Hallertau Band | Legends on Pearl

• Blues Sanctuary | The Merry Monk

• Soul Sky | Olde English Pub and Pantry

• Kylie and the Sympathetic Strangers | Pearl Street Pub

• Nite Train | Dirty Martini Lounge at the Pearl Street Pub

• Holly & Evan | Taste

The Albany Parking Authority (APA) and the City of Albany are promoting a parking initiative titled 2 Blocks, 2 Bucks, 2 Easy. The downtown Albany parking program features a $2 evening parking rate that makes parking in downtown easier and less expensive. Interested parties can learn more at APA's website www.parkalbany.com.

Now in its 25th year, Alive @ 5 is a summer series concert slated for Thursday evenings, beginning June 6, 2013 and running through August 8, 2013. Put on by the Special Event Division of the City of Albany, the concerts take place at Corning Preserve at the Albany Riverfront Park from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM. For more information on Alive @ 5 visit www.albanyevents.org or call 518.434.2032.

For the latest information and developments regarding the Blues Music Competition please visit www.downtownalbany.org.

The Downtown Albany Business Improvement District (BID) is an organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the character, vitality, and possibility of downtown Albany. Through its many programs and events, the Downtown Albany BID works to enhance the image of Albany and further its reputation as a prosperous and exciting city to live, work, and visit. For more information on the BID please visit www.downtownalbany.org or @DowntownAlbany.

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