News

South Arts Seeking Musicians for International Touring Program

Mollie Quinlan-Hayes, Deputy Director and Accessibility Coordinator, ArtsReady Director, South Arts –

Pat “Mother Blues” Cohen showcases at PAE 2016

Performing Arts Discovery: American Sounds introduces Southern jazz, blues and traditional musicians and music to presenters from around the world, with the goal of increasing international touring opportunities for artists. These festival and concert programmers are immersed in performances, history and conversations about our region’s quintessentially American music – traditional/folk, Native American, jazz, blues, Gospel, zydeco, country, bluegrass and more.

We are currently accepting submissions for touring musicians and ensembles in our nine-state region which are interested in participating in the program. The international programmers’ cohort will attend the Wide Open Bluegrass Festival in Raleigh; then a traditional music showcase will be presented during the Performing Arts Exchange in October in Orlando for domestic and international programmers. There is no cost to selected artists other than some or all travel to Orlando for artists invited to showcase. South Arts covers all production, marketing and exhibit booth costs. Jazz and blues artists will be featured in April, 2019 for a second cohort of international programmers.

If you are or know an excellent traditional, jazz or blues artist/ensemble in our nine-state region, and are ready and interested in expanding your touring internationally, please submit information to be considered. You can read more about the program here; the deadline to submit the Artist Submission form for traditional artists is June 4, 2018; for jazz and blues artists, September 30, 2018.

Please feel free to contact me or my colleague Jordan Young with any questions.