 Los Angeles, CA (BAYLORPR) - Get your guitars tuned and dance moves ready for the First Annual Southern California Music Awards presented by Stater Bros. Finally, an awards show that recognizes all emerging musical talent found in Southern California will make its debut on February 11, 2006, at the Warner Grand Theatre in San Pedro. The same folks who broke through the local music scene with events such as the Orange County Music Awards and the Inland Empire Music Awards will offer bands and solo artists from all cities in So Cal the opportunity to be heard and seen. For the first time, all musical communities will come together to jam the night away and demonstrate the tremendous amount of musical diversity found in the Los Angeles market and surrounding areas. 'It's difficult for an artist to make a living in Los Angeles, especially when most venues make you pay or sell tickets to secure your performance slot,' said Martin Brown, founder of OCMA and IEMA. 'The Southern California Music Awards gives us a broader area to showcase and we are very excited to be working with Sunset Strip.com on this venture because they understand the importance of giving great musicians a chance.' In his 25 years experience of covering the local music scene as a journalist and event producer, Brown has come across a number of local awards shows that have lacked integrity. Through Brown's events, musicians know they will be in good hands and it's also a great opportunity for them to network with other musicians and industry professionals. Over 16 categories will be represented, from 'Best Rock' to 'Best Instrumental' – categories range across the spectrum. The awards will highlight several performances throughout the evening. Showcases for "Best Live Band" are now being held at various venues in the area. So be sure to sign up for that special category which is the only one to be judged live by a team of industry judges. Slots are filling up fast! A portion on the proceeds generating from the evening will benefit nonprofit organization 'Right to Rock,' dedicated to helping fund school music programs. Be sure to visit www.southerncaliforniamusicawards.com for more event details, how to submit your entry and ticket information. The deadline to submit an entry is December 31, 2005.
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