Bon Jovi & XM Satellite Radio Give Unsigned Bands a Hand With the 'Have a Nice Gig' Contest

WASHINGTON, DC (XM Satellite Radio) - XM Satellite Radio, the nation's leading satellite radio service with more than 5 million subscribers, has joined forces with rock icons Bon Jovi with a new contest that will make the dreams of aspiring musicians come true. Beginning today, unsigned artists in select cities will have the opportunity to enter the "Have a Nice Gig" contest and have their band open for multi-platinum selling group Bon Jovi at select cities on the Have A Nice Day World Tour. Each band will then be entered into the semi-finals where the grand prize-winning band will receive a demo deal with AEG Records and open for Bon Jovi at Giants Stadium during the summer of 2006.

To enter, unsigned musicians living within 100 miles of the concert city must complete a brief application and upload one song at https://bonjovi.xmradio.com. A panel of XM's in-house music experts will review all submissions and select the bands - one for each performance - to play in front of the sold out crowds. In all, 24 bands from 17 cities will be selected and in the running to receive a demo deal and another chance to open for Bon Jovi at Giants Stadium.

The eligible Bon Jovi tour cities for the "Have a Nice Gig" contest during November and December are: November 26 - Uncasville, CT at Mohegan Sun December 2 and 3 - Philadelphia, PA at Wachovia Center December 6 - Pittsburgh, PA at Melon Arena December 7 - Uniondale, NY at Nassau Coliseum December 9 and 10 - Boston, MA at TD BankNorth Garden December 12 - Albany, NY at Pepsi Arena December 14 and 15 - Montreal, QC at Bell Centre December 17 - Washington, DC at MCI Center December 19, 21 and 22 - Meadowlands, NJ at Continental Airlines Arena

Complete contest rules, submission guidelines and information are available at https://bonjovi.xmradio.com.