Nashville!

FameCast, the leading online talent competition, will host the competition on its site, FameCast.com. From Sept. 12-25, visitors can vote for their favorite artist from among the 20 top entrants from FameCast’s Season 1 and 2 country competitions. After the voting period closes, Big State Festival organizers will choose a winner from the Top 5 fan favorites. The lucky artist will perform on Oct. 14 at 11:45 a.m. on the festival’s Main North Stage, which will also host the Drive-By Truckers and Miranda Lambert.
The Big State Festival is expected to draw 50,000 fans per day to the Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas over October 13th and 14th. The festival is produced by C3 Presents, the producer and exclusive talent buyer for two of the top annual music festivals in the U.S. — Austin City Limits and Lollapalooza in Chicago. The firm creates, produces and markets live concert experiences at more than 800 shows annually nationwide including those at Harrah’s Casinos, House of Blues in Dallas and legendary Austin clubs Stubb’s and Emo’s.
“C3 Presents is bringing Bob Dylan and Bjork together in Zilker Park this weekend, so the Big State Festival is sure to be absolutely incredible,” said FameCast CEO Kent Savage. “We are thrilled that our artists are getting a shot to be part of one of the next great American festivals.”
Besides getting the once-in-a-lifetime chance to play a major music festival, the winning artist will also enjoy the vast promotional opportunities that come with their association with FameCast and the Big State Festival. Short promo videos and news tickers on FameCast’s specially-created contest stage will provide further buzz for the artists involved who have what it takes, but have lacked the breaks.
The Big State Big Star competitors, like all 4,700 artists in the FameCast community, entered the competition by uploading a video to FameCast.com. FameCast offers 12 virtual stages of competition – Rock, Pop, R&B/Hip-Hop, Country, Singer-Songwriter, Latin, Electronic, Spiritual, Comedy, Dance, Spoken Word and Film/Animation. During each FameCast “season” (the competition just kicked off Season 3), voters determine which artists advance to subsequent rounds of competition. FameCast’s Season 2 drew more than 3 million visitors to the site from May to August.
A-list entertainment industry experts comment on the Top 10 artists on each stage, and then the Top 5 come to Austin for a live performance which is webcast worldwide. The winner of each category wins $10,000 and the worldwide exposure that comes with being crowned a FameCast “Fēnom.” FameCast will give away $120,000 to deserving artists this season, and is on track to award $350,000 within its first year of inception.
“The Big State Big Star competitors have already proven, through their past experience in vying for the FameCast Country Fenom title, that they can draw fans and play live,” said Charles Attal, principal of C3 Presents. “FameCast is a great source of talent – we’re excited to host the winner at Big State.”
In addition to an impressive musical lineup which also includes Robert Earl Keen, Jack Ingram, Trace Adkins, The Wreckers and Los Lonely Boys, fans at the Big State Festival will be treated to real NASCAR stock car racing on the 1.8-mile oval with the Richard Petty Driving Experience, one of the biggest prize purse barbecue showdowns in the nation, weekend camping spots, a Roadhouse Sports Bar, the Little State kids space, food from local favorites and celebrity chefs, plenty of cold beverages, green lawns and many more highlights for music fans and their families. More information, including links to purchase tickets, is available at www.bigstatefestival.com.
Up-and-coming artists have already found FameCast to be an excellent method of gaining exposure in today’s changing music industry climate. Season One Country Fēnom Eric Michael Hopper of Buford, GA, rocketed to #1 on Clear Channel Radio’s New Music Country Chart shortly after winning the grand prize. Season Two Rock Fēnoms Tripdavon recently had their winning song, “Nothing or All,” featured on HBO’s Entourage. Season Two Armed Forces winner Mike Corrado recently began writing with film and TV producers in Los Angeles, and Season One R&B Fēnom Melissa Suzanne’s latest single will be featured on an upcoming Sony compilation disc.
Other opportunities for FameCast artists have included a recent screening of works by the Season Two Short Film and Animation Fenoms at the 2007 LA Shorts Film Festival and a performance by a FameCast singer-songwriter at the upcoming Flat Rock Music Festival in Flat Rock, NC.
FameCast was founded by Kent Savage, a 20-year veteran entrepreneur in the Internet and digital media space. He leads a seasoned management team consisting of CMO Matt Hovis, COO Dave Hampton, CTO Wes Schiesz and CSO Erik Smith. FameCast’s Advisory Board includes a stellar lineup of industry heavyweights including Paul Korzilius, manager of superstar rock group Bon Jovi; Charles Attal, principal of C3 Presents and Charles Attal Presents; and Randy Phillips, President & CEO of AEG Live. In June 2007, the company received $4.5 million in funding from Austin Ventures.
Artists can still upload their videos for Season 3 at FameCast.com until Sept. 17-29 (depending on their chosen stage) and can thereafter submit for Season 4, which kicks off with voting in January 2008.