FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- BandSwap is a musical and cultural alliance among six like-minded cities combining the best of grassroots celebration, cross promotion, creative interconnectivity and most of all, the unrivaled experience of live music.

On the weekend of September 28  – September 30,  five of Fort Collins’ best live bands travel to their respective out of town markets for a double bill with one of the best local bands of the host city. The following weekend, October 4 - 7, the five Fort Collins bands bring home their partner bands to Fort Collins for a weekend long celebration of reciprocal double-bill gigs.

In the five collaborating markets BandSwap is arranging promotional agreements with underwriters such as New Belgium Brewery to help venues and local entities host and celebrate a successful and profitable event. SpokesBUZZ and the Fort Collins community subsidize travel and lodging for the away bands.

The BandSwap concept bridges the industry gap between digital promotion via social media and the increasingly undervalued magic of live performance. SpokesBUZZ mitigates the often prohibitive details, costs and risks for a project of this size, thus allowing the local participants to focus on promoting and growing the concept.

SpokesBUZZ, the Fort Collins nonprofit behind BandSwap, intentionally partnered with smaller markets. Specifically it chose cities with an established infrastructure like its own which supports the local scene from within as well as promulgate it nationally and globally. Dani Grant, founder of SpokesBUZZ, explains, “The idea is to put together a trifecta to catapult these bands forward. First, we offer every band an anchor city hundreds or thousands of miles away from which they can start to book their tours.” When bands arrive in the new market, they have eager and established fan bases and partner bands waiting with open arms.

Grant continues, “Secondly, each community helps one another proselytize the strengths of its local music scene outside its city limits, an effort which itself has no limits. The key word in everything we do is collaborative and we know everyone involved will learn from each other from artist to industry folk to general music fan.” For example Memphis is one of the most important socio-cultural music cities in the world and thus boasts a strong network of organizations. We intend to learn as much as we can.”

Grant continues, “Lastly, and O.K. – somewhat selfishly – we all take yet another step in showing the world how fantastic the Fort Collins arts and music scene really is. Fort Collins lifestyle is built around the beauty of our surroundings, like Boise. Whether it’s our love of microbrews and Milwaukee’s beer culture which fueled America’s early century boom, or the pride of being a great little town with tons to offer like Portland, Fort Collins shares a key aspect of social fabric and live music of each partner city.”

”Sure they can ‘friend’ and ‘like’ other bands halfway around the country, but with BandSwap we are putting the rubber to the road. We get these bands out on the road, playing together, sharing resources not only between creative individuals but between their entire home base, music-loving communities.”

“This is only the first round but we have ideas for compilation projects, packaged tours, industry showcase lineups and more to drive more fans, gigs and revenue to the bands. And as a nonprofit we are here to facilitate and support, unlike many entities looking to cash in on young bands.”

Nick LoFaro, vocalist and guitarist for Fort Collins band Common Anomaly, said, “Corresponding with our partner band in Memphis (The Soul Thieves) has been such a great opportunity for us – you start as complete strangers, but then you make friends and have a connection in a city halfway across the country. We’re sharing gear, and contacts, and really acting as ambassadors for our respective cities and states. Then later, if you go back through that region, you’re all hooked up and already have an ‘in’. It makes everything easier. We’re really excited to go to Memphis and they sound really enthusiastic about coming to Colorado.”

A member of the Memphis BandSwap band Soul Thieves fells the same. "As independent artists from Memphis, it's like striking gold to be invited into a 'festival atmosphere' half way across the country where we can expose our music to new audiences. Band Swap gives a chance to meet new fans and we can't wait to share with Common Anomaly first hand why Memphis is world famous for our music scene."

WHO: SpokesBUZZ, a Fort Collins nonprofit music collaborative

WHAT: A collaborative project matches six FoCo bands with similar bands across the country. Weekend one, each pair double-bills in matched band’s home market. Weekend two, all ten bands converge in Fort Collins for a weekend long festival event.

WHEN: Weekend one, September 28-29-30. Weekend two, October 4-5-6-7.

HOW: Collaborative effort of grassroots music organizations, convention and visitors bureaus, indie bands and sponsors from all six markets.

WHERE: Fort Collins, Memphis, Boise, Milwaukee, Boise and Portland, Ore.

WHY: Great music comes from grassroots efforts and collective passion.

SpokesBUZZ & BandSwap: http://spokesbuzz.wordpress.com/2012/07/18/bandswap/

Bandswap on YouTube:

BandSwap on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SpokesBUZZ

BandSwap on Twitter: @spokesbuzz #bandswap