January is the month we intensify one of our never ending tasks: to shed light on the artists we think are destined to produce big things in the next twelve months.And since live music is still one of the (few) growth areas of the music business we have a booking agents opinion of who are the acts to keep an eye out for on the live stages in 2012.Mark Bennett is a booker with The Crosshair Booking Agency and he is one of the influential sorts who books the tours some of you may be attending this year, first of all he wants you to be made aware of two things “1/ I am not a known taste maker or anything like that, just seems the bands I like very early on go on to do quite well for themselves. 2/ I must also make everyone aware I’m not a wordsmith not one bit.
Starting in Music, some five years ago now. I have mainly worked in the live section of the industry. Starting off working selling merch before eventually tour managing and managing bands. It wasn’t until the role of booking gigs for one of the bands that I was managing did I really find what I loved doing and that was booking tours for bands that I like and help them receive exposure from playing live.
Over the last five years, I have tour managed in 10+ countries booked tours all across Europe and America and have seen thousands upon thousands of live bands.
I don’t have as many industry contacts as what others have or claim to have. I just like to work hard for an act I think has talent. I get sent alot of stuff from musicians and try to see as much live acts as I can For the past two years I have done a new bands list, a ones to watch list, a I saw them first list. Or to me a list of great musicians that should get a little bit more exposure so here are my lists: –
Last Year my list included Tribes, Anna Calvi, The Milk, Wu Lyf, Vaccines,12 Dirty Bullets, Treetop flyers, Elena Tonra(Daughter) amongst others and some of them didn’t do too bad, so here is hoping some of these great new acts can make an impact in 2012
In no particular order:-
1) Yellowire
2) Silver Seas
3)The Targets
4) [ME]
5) Mad Dog
6) Binary
7) Janice Graham Band
8) Rachel Sermanni
9) Fractures
10) The Sea
11) She Keeps Bees
12) The Jess Hall Band
13) The Din
14)The Jack Townes
15)The Staves
16)Gross Magic
17)The Carpels
18)The Troubadors
19)Peace
20) Morrisey and Marshall
There’s the 20 bands that you might not have heard of, here is 12 acts you will have but you still must go and see them
1)Lana Del Ray
2) The War on Drugs
3) Sad Day for Puppets
4) Fanzine
5) The History of Apple Pie
6) Dexters
7) Catfish and the Bottlemen
8)Cold Specks
9) Jamie N Commons
10) DZ Deathrays
11)Life in Film
12)Kyla La Grange
You can follow me on twitter @chbookingagency
