Wednesday Weekly: Something to Look Forward To.

As Wednesday comes to a close, are you already thinking about what exciting activities NYC will play host to this weekend? No need to wait! The annual College Music Journal ("CMJ") Music Marathon and Film Festival kicked off yesterday and will continue through Saturday evening. According to Wikipedia, (a horrible source, I know!), the CMJ Marathon began in the 1980s as tool for promotion and discovery of college bands. Since then it has grown to become so much more.

This year's festival runs from October 18 through 22 and takes over venues throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn, to showcase over 1,300 performances and "dozens of cutting-edge films" by new and emerging artists. Explore some of the music and films before you attend. A few bands I would personally recommend checking out: "Portugal, The Man"; "A Place to Bury Strangers"; "Clap Your Hands Say Yeah"; "Zola Jesus"; and Robbie Gil. Some of these bands have already played their official "CMJ" showcase, but are continuing to tour in NYC while in town for the Marathon, so make sure to check their websites or the websites of the venues. The best venues will include Brooklyn Bowl, Cameo Gallery, Glasslands Gallery, Southpaw, Rockwood Music Hall, Pianos, Santos Party House, Cake Shop, Ace Hotel, and The Bowery Presents family of performance spaces. While all-access badges for the Marathon are sold out, some events still have individual tickets available.

Even if you do not want to attend any shows, if you are in the media industry, you may be interested in informative music, film, gaming, tv, internet and marketing panels. If you are a lawyer, you can get CLE credit at Friday evening's Entertainment Business Law Seminar. The full schedule of CMJ Marathon events can be found here.

Folk singer/songwriter Will Stratton performs at an unofficial
pre-CMJ Marathan event at the Housing Works Bookstore Cafe
on Monday, October 17: "Around the Campfire with Storychord.org. "