PERRYSVILLE — Throughout the summers, Pleasant Hill Lake Park enjoys hosting concerts with local musicians.
But when the park’s program services director, Louie Andres started having trouble finding new performers, he had an idea.
“I thought maybe having a contest to get those up-and-coming bands, those who maybe haven’t gotten a paid gig or are looking for exposure,” Andres said. “I wanted to offer that to them.”
Now in its second year, the Beats by the Beach contest on May 26 at the park is looking for contestants.
Musicians are asked to submit two videos and a set list to landres@mwcd.org. The deadline to submit is May 15.
“We’re looking for college-age musicians, under 25-years old, really to fill our program needs and to also give them an opportunity,” he said.
Of all the submissions, Andres said three will be chosen to perform from 7 to 10 p.m. Each musician or band will be expected to perform a 45-minute, family-friendly set. Each act will be given $100.
The winner of the Beats on the Beach will then perform a three-hour set on Sept. 1. The winner will also be given $300 for the performance, Andres said.
“We have both our social media platforms (Facebook and Instagram) and we have our website,” Andres said. “We will be promoting the artists there and on radio. We had three (performers) last year and those people have gotten the exposure and that’s helped them.
“The thing is, you don’t know who is sitting in the audience and who is looking for a wedding band or a class reunion band, something like that. If they see them and they like them, we can help get them in contact with the band.”
Andres added there will be several thousand in the audience for the contest.
Pleasant Hill Lake, located near Ohio 95, is an 850-acre lake near Perrysville with more than 1,345 acres of land resources, Andres said.
“A lot of people think we are just a campground, but we are trying to get people to come out and just enjoy the outdoors,” he said. “There’s a lot more to do there than just camping and that’s why we do a lot of theses activities.”
