Stingray Rising Star Competition

Barracks Tent, Fredericton NB

This year's Stingray Rising Star Finalists are Free to Grow (Fredericton, NB), David in the Dark (Fredericton NB), Stephen Lewis (Fredericton NB) and Hum & Hollow (Fredericton NB).

As part of Harvest's commitment to the development of local talent, the Rising Star Showcase will take place on Friday, September 18th at 2pm in the Stingray Music Barracks Tent. Each of the four finalists will perform and be judged on talent, originality and stage presence by a panel of music industry experts. A pre-event online voting campaign will take place and votes will also be taken from members of the audience that afternoon, so participants are encouraged to bring out family and friends for support. The panel of industry judges will comprise 50% of the final vote tally and the audience and online voting will represent the remaining 50%. In the event of a tie, the choice of the industry judges will prevail.

"It’s so important to Harvest to invest in and play a role in the growth of the New Brunswick music industry and we're proud to present the Stingray Rising Stars Showcase to our Festival audiences for the 14th year," says Brent Staeben, Music Director "Please join us on September 18th and catch these great emerging New Brunswick acts and be part of Harvest history".

Past winners of the prestigious title include Ross Neilsen, Keith Hallett, Andy Brown and Matt Andersen – whose band Flat Top were Harvest's very first Rising Stars in 2001.

These four finalists represent the high calibre of New Brunswick's music industry, spanning a diverse range of genres.

The winner—who will be announced immediately following the competition at 4:15PM on Friday, September 18th—will receive $2000 donated by Stingray and the Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival. The winning band will also open Friday's show in the Stingray Barracks Tent with Grand Theft Bus and last year’s Rising Star Winners Earthbound Trio.