Charter 2012 Virtual Battle Of The Bands To Bring Winner Center Stage At Acclaimed Taste Of St. Louis Festival

ST. LOUIS, June 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Charter Center Stage 2012 Battle of the Bands ( charter.com/centerstage) will heat up online this summer in its second year of showcasing talented musicians and bands of every genre, all vying for the opportunity to perform online and on stage before thousands – and be discovered beyond their hometowns.

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The band with the most fan votes will claim a spot on Center Stage at the award-winning Taste of St. Louis, taking place September 28-30 at Soldiers Memorial. Charter is the presenting title and stage sponsor for the 2012 Taste of St. Louis, a nationally recognized celebration of the best food, music, art and culture the Gateway City has to offer. 

Bands can submit video entries from June 20 through July 30. Early submissions are encouraged, since fans begin voting on July 9. Entries can be submitted at charter.com/centerstage or at facebook.com/chartercom. Music videos must feature an original song written by one or more of the band's members.   

The contest winner of Charter Center Stage will open for a nationally known headliner artist, to be announced soon. The band will perform at Taste of St. Louis on Saturday, September 29, before an audience that, since the event's inception eight years ago, has totaled hundreds of thousands each year. The concert will also be webcast live on Facebook.

Charter's inaugural Center Stage concert in 2011 took place in Madison, WI, when Sunderland, a pop-rock band from Hood River, OR, triggered nearly 10,000 votes in the contest's final voting to win the big prize, with over 316 bands participating in the battle. Sunderland opened for PANIC! At the Disco, Fitz and the Tantrums, and Plain White T's. Thousands attended the 2011 concert and 10,000 more saw it streamed live on Facebook.

According to Sunderland, Charter Center Stage literally put them on the map. "We've never experienced a more rapid fan-base growth than we have after playing Charter Center Stage. Our name reached all over the U.S., and we can now draw a crowd in most cities we tour in, which is amazing for an unsigned band like us."

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