About Featured Bands and Band of the Month

This page is part of the bands section

Artsin Magazine publishes feature articles on local rock bands. The bands are listed on the featured bands page.

A band is featured when we write an article about it or publish an interview with the band members, or when we make them our Band of the Month.

Band of the month

We have, for some years now, featured a band of the month. We have kept this format as a way of focusing on one particular band and supporting publicity for them. If we decide to feature a band in this way, we assign them to the month in which the article is published; but, not all months have had a band feature in the past.

Once we have published a Band of the Month feature article, we promote that page on Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, Reverb Nation and other outlets and might also issue a press press release.

We feature a band because we regard their music as being outstanding, their performances as being noteworthy and see them as having a significant career in music. This can include well established bands as well as new or young bands that display exceptional promise. We select bands that have followed for some time and have seen them play live on a number of occasions. In the case of new bands, if we feature them it is because they show exceptional potential, both in their song writing ability and in the quality of their initial live performances. Occasionally a new band is one that has emerged from a group of musicians whose work we know well.

Band of the Month is not something for which bands can apply. Bands are chosen by senior editors on the basis of their track record of live performances and recordings over a period of time. It is a judged selection - there is no public voting procedure.

Nearly all of our featured bands write their own music. We have only once (so far) featured a band that did not play its own original music. We would not rule out featuring a covers or tribute band but it would be the exception to the rule.

Here is a list of all the bands we know have been BOTM since this started:

The Manhattan Project, Backline, Messini Assault, Beat Club, The Utopians, Breek, Subdude, Full Circle, Forty More Autumns, Razmataz, Smoking the Profit, The Heroes, The Truth, The Chairmen (Oct 08), Kids in Cars (Nov 08), Formal Warning (Dec 08), The Steptoos (January 09), The Pennyhangers (February 09), Project Notion (March 09), Skam# (April 09), Shortwave Fade (May 09), The Waits (June 09), Kill The Batman (July 09), The Fazed (August 09), Autohype (Sept 09), Weekend Schemers (Oct 09), AstroManiacs (Nov 09), Azidify (Dec 2009), Kicking Habits (Jan 2010), Drive By Disco (early Feb 2010), The Stiggz (late Feb 2010), Iziggy (Mar 2010), Third Time Lucky (May 2010), Neon Sarcastic (June 2010), Silent Resistance (Jul 2010), Ashdowne (Aug 2010), Go Primitive (Sep 2010), The Black Tears (Oct 2010), Us Wolves (Nov 2010), Maybeshewill (Dec 2010), Skam# (Feb 2011), Glassfoot (Mar 2011), Aphtershock (April 2011), The Boobytraps (May 2011), SuperEvolver (June 2011), Rassoodocks(July 2011), The Chairmen (August 2011), Midnight Wire (September 2011), Muleta Smiles (October 2011), By The Rivers (November 2011), Arms of Atlas (January 2012), Raptusound (February 2012), Resin (March 2012)

Early BOTM articles have been lost but were very limited (just a highlighted mention and not much more).

Other pages you might like:

Singer of the month

Covers and commercial bands

Leicester rocks (our feature on the rock music scene in Leicester).

News about bands

Arts in Leicestershire's showcase gigs

How to get a gig in Leicester

How to get a gig at GlastonBudget

Interviews with band

Record reviews