Last Chance to VOTE!

School Jam USA is a battle of the bands like no other and voting is coming to a close! The contest takes 12 teen bands from four different regions of the U.S., and pits them up against each other in an online voting battle. Ask me how fun this is – my band won last year!

School Jam USA is a battle of the bands like no other and voting is coming to a close! The contest takes 12 teen bands from four different regions of the U.S., and pits them up against each other in an online voting battle. Ask me how fun this is – my band won last year!

The top two voted bands from each region plus two wild card bands will move on to the finals in Anaheim, California where they will perform in front of a panel of industry professionals. The band that wins those finals travels to Germany to perform at the School Jam festival in Frankfurt. Not only that, but the band gets to record on the John Lennon Educational Bus and receives $5,000 towards their school’s music program plus $1,000 toward purchasing musical gear for the band.

Speaking from personal experience with my band Aftermath, this is one of the most exciting things a young band can do to get their name out and spread their music to more people. Going to Germany and experiencing the music scene there was remarkable. Also, the $5,000 to our schools was a great contribution. There was nothing more rewarding then hearing our names called as the winners and knowing all the work had paid off. It actually brought me to tears! It opened many doors for my bands and now, one year later, the contest is back with new hopefuls.

This year, Victoria-based singer-songwriter Sarah Rivas is entering the online voting battle. She first read about School Jam online and was thrilled about the chance to get her music heard by a wider audience. Sarah draws inspiration from soulful singers like Joss Stone, Aretha Franklin, and Adele. “It would be amazing to perform for Germany! Definitely something I would feel very proud of. I love the feeling I get when I sing or write music. I feel whole and complete. And I love that I can bring something so powerful to the world with just one note.”

Although Rivas is a little nervous for it all, she is thrilled about the prize money for school music programs. “Music is a wonderful thing. To be able to win that money and help others love music just as much as I do would be very special to me. At the end of the day I have to be completely confident in my music because it is my heart and soul.”

Austin’s Electric Society is also in the running for the finals. The six-piece band’s eclectic sound boasts an exciting energy. Electric Society is working on recording a CD in December. “Our music is just different than most bands you hear, and we want people to relate to what we are doing and what we’re putting so much time into,” says drummer JB Jarrett.

“We are very excited about the benefits of winning the competition, the money we get will really help us with recording,” Jarrett shares. “I think that Electric Society has made pretty much nothing into something and we just want to keep it going and make it as far as we can.”

You can listen to both Electric Society and Sarah Rivas and fellow competitors Schmillion and there's still time to register and VOTE!