Nippertown’s 2022 March Music Madness is Back and Twice as Nice

Sure everyone has heard of the NCAA’s March Madness tournament, the road to the Final Four, and a college basketball national championship. Well, this isn’t the NCAA and while everyone enjoys a little college ball from time to time, we’re going to stick to focusing on local music.

Our March Music Madness tournament is done with a flair that only the Capital Region’s top dog, “Nipper” can pull off. And after the success of last year’s tournament, we knew we had to do it again. Last year’s Final Four were Bad Mothers, Candy Ambulance, Girl Blue, and the winner of the tournament, Glass Pony. The bands played a special Nippertown version of the Palace Theatre’s Palace Sessions.

The virtual bracketed tournament pits local musicians in friendly competition, vying for bragging rights and the opportunity to win some much-needed cash. The seven-week event plays out across the polls with fans voting in to help their band advance to the next round.

The tournament is accepting nominations from local music fans from now until Saturday, February 19th. Nominate your favorite local bands at https://nippertown.com/march-music-madness/ and yes, you can nominate more than one band. If for any reason the link doesn’t work, just email your nominations directly to [email protected].

The Capital District’s music scene has long been appreciated but has recently garnered national attention with several of our own artists featured on national television audiences of “The Voice” and “American Idol.” In 2016, a New York City-based data resource group placed the Tri-City area as No. 6 — one rung behind Austin, Texas — on its nationwide list for the best music scene. But as The Spot 518’s Michael Hallisey likes to remind us, we are #BetterThanAustin.

Our local March “Music” Madness will feature 64 musicians/bands from the Capital Region and include artists from every genre. Each will be welcomed to gather their fanbase to help them advance.

Bands have the opportunity to win various cash prizes made available by our incredible local sponsors. Prices will be doubled this year, $500 for the Winner, $300 for the Runner-up, and $200 for 3rd and 4th place Semi-finalists. Last year, we got enough sponsors to extend our prizes for 5th through 8th places. So we are going to double that, too, so if a band makes it to the “Elite Eight” they will walk away with $100.

Nippertown is also working with White Lake Music and Post again this year to come up with a recording studio package for the winner, and there will sure to be other great prizes for the bands added.

And, the winner of this year’s tournament will have the opportunity to play the Main Stage of NipperFest on July 23rd. So instead of the Road to the Final Four, we can say that this is the “Road to NipperFest!”

If you are interested in sponsoring this year’s tournament, email Jim Gilbert or Amy Klemme ([email protected]).

Voting will take place each week on Nippertown.com from Wednesday to Saturday. Bands who advance will be announced on Wednesdays in The Spot 518, as well as, on Nippertown.com. The Crew (Nippertown’s Weekly Podcast discussing the local scene) will chat about the results live on our Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Twitch channels. Tune in every Wednesday night at 7 pm.