The historical Spencer Penn Center located in Spencer, VA at the foothills of the beautiful Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains & Parkway is the official conference site for the 2008 Indiegrrl Women in the Arts Conference. The conference will provide an excellent opportunity for women in the arts, booking agencies, venues, industry professionals, businesses supporting the arts, and self-represented artists to gather together, network, showcase, and exhibit and conduct business. The event celebrates women in the arts and emerging talent with 2 days/nights of showcases from selected original acts and artists in music, comedy, and spoken word. Industry professionals attend as panelists, speakers, mentors, exhibitors and talent scouts to network, do business and share their experience with the registrants.

Women and men are welcome to attend the conference. A full conference pass is $100 and will allow you to attend all workshops, panels, the exhibit hall and both live performance stages on Friday and Saturday. Conference passes must be purchased in advance by July 31. After July 31 you will have to purchase a walk up conference pass at the door for $125. Showcase artists will feature members of Indiegrrl Women in the Arts, Rockin’ Moms, Songsalive, and Females On Fire. Showcase schedules and artists will be listed soon.

Thursday night there will be an opening banquet at the hosting hotel, The Dutch Inn, featuring two influential industry keynote speakers, Bonnie Bramlett and Molly Neuman. The banquet meal will be buffet style and tickets are $30. Only 300 seats are available so it is recommended to purchase tickets in advance. Those tickets can also be purchases online here along with the conference passes. The Indiegrrl Honorary Members that are in attendance will get recognized at the banquet and will be featured in showcase slots. A social gathering will follow the banquet on Thursday night in The Dutch Inn Lounge.

A $10 general public one day ticket will be sold on Friday and Saturday at the doors only and will only allow access into the exhibit hall and the two stage areas. A food vendor will be on site at The Spencer Penn Center selling a selection of sandwiches, salads, desserts and beverages. The Dutch Inn Hotel is offering room discounts of $64.95 for two people that includes a free full breakfast buffet for those attending the conference. Phone (276) 647-3721 to make your room reservations.

Keynote Speaker, Bonnie Bramlett, known for both her music and acting endeavors performed as an “Ikette” with Ike & Tina Turner, and toured with such legendary artists as The Allman Brothers, Eric Clapton, Dave Mason, George Harrison, Stephen Stills and more. Bramlett also has many acting credits to her name performing in several movies with roles in 1971's road classic Vanishing Point and in 1974's Catch My Soul and also guest-starred in an episode of Fame in 1986. She also appeared in the Andrew Davis film The Guardian (2006) starring Kevin Costner. She had a regular role on “The Roseanne Show” as a co-worker in the diner known as Bonnie who was friends with Roseanne Conner (Roseanne Barr). In 2002, Bramlett returned to her musical roots, releasing her album I'm Still the Same. She continues to record and tour today. Bonnie Bramlett’s daughter singer Bekka Bramlett was briefly a member of Fleetwood Mac in the 1990s when Stevie Nicks left the group.

Keynote Speaker Molly Neuman, originally from Washington, DC, began her career in music as the drummer for the seminal riot girl band Bratmobile. After graduating from The Evergreen State College in 1992, she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and began to work at Lookout Records in 1994. In 1997 she became a partner and has been instrumental in the signing and development of such artists as The Donnas, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Ted Leo/Pharmacists among many others. After moving to New York in 2004, Molly became involved with the as yet unnamed U.S. independent label trade association as a member of the search committee for its first president, and a founding board member of A2IM upon its formation. In addition to Lookout, Molly is a partner at Indivision management, a management company focusing on independent artists, has founded a new label Simple Social Graces Discos, and works at eMusic.com. She is absolutely committed to the independent music industry and anticipates being a punk rocker for the rest of her life.

Acts and artists traveling to the 2008 Indiegrrl Conference are responsible for their own travel arrangements. The Dutch Inn located in Collinsville, VA about 7 miles from the Spencer Penn Centre has special conference room rates and amenities for artists attending and industry professionals. Hotel Reservations at The Dutch Inn can be made by calling 1-276-647-3721. The Spencer Penn Centere in Spencer, VA and the Dutch Inn Hotel in Collinsville, VA are accessible by major highways and interstates and are located about 45 minutes from both Roanoke, VA Airport and Greensboro, NC Airport.

Indiegrrl Conference Registration Form

Indiegrrl Member Showcase Artists - click here for schedule times

Linq - Royalston, MA
Arjuna Greist - Northhampton, MA
Roia Rafieyan - Flemington, NJ
Lisa Jane Lipkin - Millwood, NY
Carey Colvin - Chester, VA
Vicki Blankenship - Martinsville, VA
Sonya Heller - New York, NY
Vicki Genfan - Flemington, NJ
Shelly Ryan - Marietta, GA
Tracy Rice - Nashville, TN
Melissa Bel - Ontario, Canada
Terry Winchell - Water Mill, NY
Sue Jeffers - Kent, OH
Erin Brown - Raleigh, NC
Katie Garibaldi - San Francisco, CA
Mary Jennings - New York, NY
Genevieve - Los Angeles, CA
Broda - Farmville, VA
Amanda Abizaid - North Hollywood, CA
Moira & Sweet Interference - Washington, DC
Mermaids in the Basement - Norfolk, VA
Patty Benson & Band - Greensboro, NC
Ros Wilting (Trio) - Monrovia, MD

Rockin Moms Member Showcase Artists

Linq - Royalston, MA
Kim-Char Meridith - Naperville, IL
Debra Alt - West Haven, CT

Songsalive Member Showcase Artists

Genevieve - Los Angeles, CA
Amy Mathesius - Dillon, CO
Amanda Abizaid - North Hollywood, CA
Katie Garibaldi - San Francisco, CA

Go Girls Music Member Showcase Artists

America's Sweetheart - New York City
Conshafter - Richmond, VA

Sponsors

Oasis CD Manufacturing - http://oasiscd.com
Serge Entertainment Group - http://www.sergeentertainmentgroup.com
Daisy Rock Guitars - http://www.daisyrock.com
MPress Records - http://www.mpressrecords.com
Linq Songs Publishing - http://www.linqmusic.com
Onlinegigs - http://www.onlinegigs.com
Music Talks Sessions - http://musictalkssessions.com
Sage Design, LLC - http://www.sagedesign.biz
Songsalive - http://www.songsalive.org
Rockin' Moms - http://www.rockinmoms.com
Females On Fire - www.femalesonfire.com
Sonicbids - http://www.sonicbids.com
Harmonic Capo - http://www.weaseltrap.com
Spotted Kiva Productions - http://www.spottedkivaproductions.com

 

Workshop & Panel Discussions Schedule - click here for schedule pdf