FSCS 2.0 - Grid City Magazine

All New Music | All New Bands | One Night Only

During the final days of summer 2015, something special happened. An idea to strengthen community through music brought almost 50 musicians together, each willing to create music with friends new and old. It was a bit of an experiment that proved overwhelming positive.

The Fredericton Swinger’s Club Showcase packed both stages at The Capital Complex and delivered nearly seven hours of continuous live music from 13 bands, each making their live debut.

“The feedback from our first event was very positive,” said Luke Bailey, one of the organisers behind the Fredericton Swinger’s Club Showcase. “Afterwards, many people were saying we should do this on a regular basis and we agreed. The energy in the room during the first event was contagious. No one knew what to expect and that was the best part.”

The inaugural event, organized in partnership with the Shifty Bits Cult, welcomed musicians from all backgrounds and genres and teamed seasoned veterans with novice hopefuls including some who had never played music in front of an audience before. Each group then set to writing new, original music for their performance.

The Fredericton Swinger’s Club Showcase will return to The Capital Complex March 19 for a second installment.

“We are working with a tighter time frame this time around,” said Bailey, “however the concept stays the same. Artists will be randomly assigned to a group with two to five other musicians, and given one month to create 20 minutes of new music.”

The event was originally planned in part as a way to mark the end of summer, but the overwhelming response to the August 29 performance forced organisers to consider adding a second showcase to their annual planning. A call for interested musicians went out in early February of this year and once again, the event has generated a surprising amount of interest.

“We were blown away with the amount of entries this time around,” said Bailey. “We gave only a ten day window to sign up, word spread quickly and close to 50 musicians entered allowing us to create ten bands for the showcase.

“Over half of the musicians who have entered FSCS 2.0 are new to the list. The idea is catching on and it is attracting more people to our music community. I think creative people like to be challenged, and this is a perfect way for musicians to get out of their comfort zones and put their collaboration skills to the test.”