Astoria, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/10/2011 -- Today, maurices announced the winner of its "Small Town Sound" nationwide band search. After several months of competition, fans voted Illinois-based band Audri & Aaron through the final round and named them the hottest female-fronted band in the country.
maurices, the leading small town specialty store and fashion authority with 760+ stores nationwide, created the "Small Town Sound" contest in partnership with PlayNetwork and Sonicbids.
"We're thrilled with the outcome of this competition. As a brand we have deep roots in small towns and our goal was to find the hidden gems of talent within those communities," said Lisa Bartlett, maurices associate vice president of marketing. "The band Audri & Aaron is exactly what we were hoping to uncover."
Formed in April 2010, this acoustic/soul/pop duo from Alton, Ill., has already found their musical niche with influences from artists such as Norah Jones, Colbie Caillat and Michael Buble. The group consists of Audri Lucasey on lead vocals and violin, and Aaron Kellim on vocals, guitar and piano. The two teamed up while attending Lewis & Clark Community College, where they had many music and vocal performance classes together.
"We still can't believe we won and we're so excited about the opportunities ahead," said Lucasey. "For a band that's just starting out to have the chance to perform with such iconic girl groups and record our own video is just amazing. We're so thankful to maurices, PlayNetwork and Sonicbids for launching this competition, which will hopefully help launch our careers."
More than 500 bands entered the competition, which was down to 50 after a round of online voting. A group of panelists including The Bangles, Chrissie Hynde and Sick of Sarah narrowed the competition to 10 finalists who were given two weeks to create an original song based on the "Small Town Sound" theme celebrating American culture. Ultimately, Audri & Aaron received the top prize. Second and third place went to Allison Gray (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Euralea (Moline, Ill.) respectively. A demo of the winning song is available for listening online.
The winning band will receive several incredible opportunities to let their star power shine. They'll perform live at their local maurices store, fly to Los Angeles to shoot a music video and record their winning song at the PlayNetwork production studio, and receive gifts from maurices and Daisy Rock Guitars. In addition, the group will perform live with The Bangles and Sick of Sarah at a private daytime showcase hosted by maurices during South by Southwest 2011 in Austin, TX.
Visit http://www.maurices.com to learn more about Audri & Aaron and hear their winning song.
About maurices
maurices, a division of Ascena Retail Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASNA), is the leading small town specialty store and authority for the savvy, fashion-conscious girl with a twenty-something attitude. Today, maurices operates over 760 stores in 44 states. maurices stands for fashion, quality, value and customer service. Offering sizes 1-24, our styles are inspired by the girl in everyone, in every size. For store information and to shop online, visit maurices.com.
PlayNetwork, Inc. specializes in the creation and distribution of entertainment media.
Sonicbids is the website that helps bands get gigs and promoters book the right bands.