You know how secrets are hard to keep? Especially when you have the answer to a question everyone wants to know? Ugh, it’s almost painful.

We got daily inquiries about opportunities to play Oakaloosa 2013. Sometimes, we were asked several times in a day. Some musicians took offense to us not having any information about available slots.

Well, the rabbit is hopping out of the hat now. Yes, there are slots. Two, in fact.

There is still a chance to be a part of history. The Oakaloosa crew will be hosting a Battle of the Bands over two weekends. The winner will get a choice playing slot on the Broder & Sachse Stage. The runner-up will score a slot on the Barracks stage.

Battle of the Bands Details

There will be four preliminary rounds with four bands competing per round. The winner from each preliminary will go to the finals. The winner and runner-up bands from the finals will play Oakaloosa!

Here are the dates of the preliminary rounds and the final:

Friday, July 12 – Hard Rock Cafe
Saturday, July 13 – Pike Room
Thursday, July 18 – Hard Rock Cafe
Friday, July 19 – Pike Room

Finals: Wednesday, July 24 – Crofoot Ballroom

Want to compete?

Send your interest to [email protected].

Want to watch the battles?

Doors for preliminary rounds will all be 9pm; doors for the finals will be 7pm. Each event will have a $10 cover.

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Hi, I’m Hubert and I’ll be your social resource for all things Oakaloosa. Any tweet or status update you see, it is likely I am behind it. When I’m not managing Oakaloosa’s social channels, you can find in most places on the web as “HubertGAM”.

You have your Oakaloosa Music Festival tickets. A good time is of utmost importance. Now you have establish how you will ensure a good time. Do your friends have tickets? Uber-cool.

How about your financial situation? Will you have enough money to buy food and drinks? Maybe you need to take a few extra shifts at work to have enough to feel comfortable on Saturday, July 27th. Smart thinking.

Now you need to think about transportation. Do you need a lift? Or wait, are you planning to enjoy some adult beverages on the day of the festival? Would driving to or from Historic Fort Wayne be a questionable choice? If yes to any of these questions, then consider using Uber!

What is an Uber

Uber is an app, which gives licensed, professional drivers the ability to receive and fulfill on-demand car service reservations as your private driver. For us travelers, Uber allows us to hail fancy cabs in many metropolitan areas using our smartphones.

The Uber app is on iPhone and Android, but you can also use m.uber.com to hail a ride. Sounds cool, right? Well, it gets cooler.

Oakaloosa has worked a deal with Uber to provide festival goers who are new to their service to receive $20 off their first ride. You must download the app though to receive the discount. When you use the app to summon a ride to Historic Fort Wayne, just be sure to use promo code “Oakaloosa” to score $20 on the ride to the festival!

Uber actually makes commissioning private cars more affordable. Their ability to drive increased business to local drivers helps us all! You know how scant taxi tend to be in metro Detroit. Let’s build up the demand for them; have a truly unique day and look to use their service on Saturday, July 27th!

Promo code: Oakaloosa
- $20 off first Uber ride
- New users only
- Valid in Detroit

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If you’re going to Oakaloosa, then you may want to stay overnight close to Historic Fort Wayne. We get it. You may be coming as far as Chicago, New York or Florida. Or you are a grown person who does grown person things and want to be responsible. Either way, you may need some help for finding the right place for the night.

Fortunately, Detroit has a lot of options. The city has everything from cheap by-the-hour motels to lavish, palatial suites. There is a place for every kind of person and budget.

We have produced a list of all the options which are close to Historic Fort Wayne. Hopefully, you guys will extend your financial impact and patronize one of Detroit’s many establishments. When you check-in, make sure to tell them you are there for Oakaloosa Music Festival!

Please note some of these hotels may already be booked on the night of the festival. Unfortunately, we cannot keep tabs on that. We are too busy ensuring the festival rocks!

Detroit Bed & Breakfasts

Honor and Folly
Located in Corktown, right about Slows BBQ, Honor & Folly is “a small-scale, design-focused Detroit inn”. Decorated with arts and crafts from local artists, a bedroom can be booked for $165 per night. You can book both rooms for $215.

Inn on Ferry Street
The Inn on Ferry Street is an elegant, storied experience. Many on our team like to stay here for a Detroit stay-cation. You can book a room as low as $159 per night, but it looks like they may not have any vacancies.

Detroit Hostel(s)

Hostel Detroit
This hostel, opened by Emily Doerr, has been in opened since April 2011. It is a 501(c)(3) educational non-profit. A part of the mission of the hostel is to ensure patrons truly experience Detroit and not just limit themselves to where they are resting their heads. You can stay at Hostel Detroit for as low as $30 per night.

Downtown Detroit Hotels and Motels

There are too many hotels and motels in downtown Detroit to give each hotel a review. We have linked to each one and tried to list them in descending order in terms of price. The hotels at the top of this list tend to be more expensive. The ones towards the bottom of this list are less expensive.

The ones in the center will likely be where festival goers will gravitate. We definitely recommend you do your homework, if you’re picky about your hotel stays. Yet we feel most will have a decent stay at the places we list here.

MGM Grand Hotel
Westin Book Cadillac Detroit
MotorCity Casino Hotel
Greektown Casino Hotel
DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Detroit
Roberts Riverwalk Hotel & Residence, Detroit
Hotel St. Regis
Atheneum Suite Hotel
Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center
Courtyard Detroit Downtown
Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Downtown Detroit
Detroit Regency Hotel
Hilton Garden Inn Detroit Downtown
Corktown Inn
Stay Inn and Suites Detroit

Photo credit: JasonParis

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Weeks ago, the Oakaloosa crew and a fantastic group of photographers toured the Historic Fort Wayne for a photo walk. We were joined by some of the performing acts such as Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas, Kaleido, and Paulina Jayne.

When you have the kind of talent we had surrounding us that day, you have to take advantage. That meant interviewing some of Detroit’s best emerging musical acts on a wonderful Saturday.

Paulina Jayne arrived as one of the youngest attendees of our photo walk. Believe it or not, at 17 years old, Paulina is one of our most accomplished Oakaloosa performers. She has worked with highly-respected songwriters and producers to record her songs. Add on performances at Nashville showcases, along with Downtown Hoedown and Detroit Music Awards, the young lady undeniably deserves respect.

Usually at Fort Wayne, when you see people in a line formation, they are running military drills. On Saturday, July 27th, if you see a line formation, folks will likely be dancing.

I would love to continue rambling, but our recent interview with Paulina Jayne does more than we can type. So let’s do it, shall we?

Meet Paulina Jayne

Connect with Paulina Jayne

Her website is sweet. She’s crazy active on Twitter and Facebook. If you’ve watched the video, you hopefully subscribed to her on YouTube!

Photo credit: Wally Spice Photography

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Weeks ago, the Oakaloosa crew and a fantastic group of photographers toured the Historic Fort Wayne for a photo walk. We were joined by some of the performing acts such as Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas, Kaleido, and Paulina Jayne.

When you have the kind of talent we had surrounding us that day, you have to take advantage. That meant interviewing some of Detroit’s best emerging musical acts on a wonderful Saturday.

Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas were the first band to arrive, so they are the first ones we are going to feature. Led by none other than Jessica Hernandez, the Deltas are a band of friends who dance around music genres like Savion Glover. On any given track, you can experience a blend of piano-driven rock, jazz, funk, and latin sounds. Add on Hernandez’s spectacular vocal work and a musical treat is comprised.

Did I mention that she usually performs with a full horn section? *evoking DMX* Wha-aaaaat!

We are so excited to have Jessica and the Deltas play Oakaloosa. They exemplify the high-level of skill, style and substance noted from great bands out of Detroit.

It is even cooler that our aforementioned front woman can relate to Detroit’s military fort. Ms. Hernandez actually attended a military school and competed in drill competitions. She actually wanted to attend West Point before becoming a budding music star!

Without further ado, please enjoy this quick promotional video we did with the band at Historic Fort Wayne.

Meet Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas

Not Familiar with Jessica’s Music?

Download Weird Looking Women in Too Many Clothes on iTunes. This is the band’s debut EP, which features a remix from Detroit’s Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr. It is quality from beginning to end. My favorite track is the haunting “All So Mute”. It makes me want to cry and I’m not even sure what the song is truly saying.

Special thanks to Michael, Taylor, “Club Stet Stetson”, John, Benjamin, and of course, Jessica! We appreciated having them join us at Historic Fort Wayne. Saturday, July 27th will be an amazing day, because they will be playing live!

You can find Jessica Hernandez on Twitter as @DetroitJess and on Facebook. Tell them we sent you. And be sure to buy a ticket, if you haven’t yet!

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Hi, I’m Hubert and I’ll be your social resource for all things Oakaloosa. Any tweet or status update you see, it is likely I am behind it. When I’m not managing Oakaloosa’s social channels, you can find in most places on the web as “HubertGAM”.

Calling all photographers! It’s photo walk time!

One reason many Detroiters know little about Historic Fort Wayne is lack of information. We, the Oakaloosa team, want to try to fill that void by generating original content which highlights the fort’s best features. Our first attempt is going to be through a photo walk, hosted by us and the good folks of AwesomeMitten.com.

What is a Photo Walk

To make it easy on ourselves, we’ll take this clip from Scott Kelby:

You take yourself and a camera to a designated meeting place to meet up with other photographers, then venture out into an area and snap away! Walk around taking pictures for a couple of hours, then gather at a restaurant, bar, or other eatery/drinkery, and compare, share, discuss, and have a good time.

Much like Kelby’s worldwide photo walks, we are going to be providing a small prize to the best photo of the walk.

Oakaloosa Photo Walk Details

Where: Historic Fort Wayne (6325 W Jefferson Ave, Detroit, MI 48209)
When: Saturday, May 18 at noon until 2:00PM

Do I need to register? Yes, please use the form at the end of this post.
Is there a cost? No.
What if this is my first time, any tips? Sure, try this guest post from Digital Photography School.

After the photo walk, everyone is invited to join the Oakaloosa team for food and drinks at El Nacimiento. We may or may not have prizes for the best photo posts during our excursion.

Oakaloosa Photo Walk Registration

Limited to the first 25 photo walk registrants. Please be certain you can attend, because our form will disappear once we hit 25 entries.

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Hi, I’m Hubert and I’ll be your social resource for all things Oakaloosa. Any tweet or status update you see, it is likely I am behind it. When I’m not managing Oakaloosa’s social channels, you can find in most places on the web as “HubertGAM”.

Three-One-Three! Three-One-Three! Three-One-Three!

So the early bird tickets have been sold. Special thanks and congratulations to our savvy festival patrons. We look forward to rocking with you at Historic Fort Wayne!

We encourage everyone to go ahead and buy their festival tickets today. There are limited VIP tickets, which are $65. In the meantime, we want to make things interesting. We will have some opportunities for you to win free tickets.

We know, we know. Why buy tickets if you can win them? Well, the ticket giveaways will be limited and you will have to work to get them. Some of you were born to win, and you’re going to get your opportunity.

Ticket Giveaway Opportunities

Basically, if you want to win tickets, be sure to like us on Facebook. Most ticket giveaways will be posted there. Twitter users should follow us. We will certainly have a Twitter contest or two. And for the super hardcore, find us on Google+. We won’t even post the link. You’ve been advised.

The post Early Birds are Gone, But All is not Lost appeared first on Oakaloosa Music Festival.

Hi, I’m Hubert and I’ll be your social resource for all things Oakaloosa. Any tweet or status update you see, it is likely I am behind it. When I’m not managing Oakaloosa’s social channels, you can find in most places on the web as “HubertGAM”.

Here is a reminder why you should cop early bird tickets, like right now:

Girl Talk. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony reunion. Some of the best Michigan-based music talent across all genres. Historic Fort Wayne in Detroit.

If it is not obvious, Oakaloosa has something to prove. We are not trying to be just any old music festival. We are trying to rival the top festivals in the country. In order to get there, we need your support, Detroit!

Now We’re Talking:

@hostel_detroit booked, @oakaloosa ticket bought, alls I need now is a greyhound //// #Detroit I’m comin fer yah.

— Andy Whitehead (@awhitehead11) May 1, 2013

BOOM. Oakaloosa aims to do more than just rock off your socks. We are looking to make a difference in our region. Supporting our local venues like Fort Wayne and Hostel Detroit. Be like our friend, Andy.

Our first day sales were tremendous and we are still selling them at a steady tick. If you were not aware, we are discounting the first 313 tickets. That’s right, you get $10 off if you buy today. There are only a few tickets left, so you should get right on it.

EDIT: Early Bird Ticket Are GONE

You read it right. We’ve sold-out of them. You can still buy festival tickets at the affordable cost of $45.

Early Birds Help Spread the Word

Already have your tickets? Share this post with your friends and family to make sure they get theirs. Music festivals are always best when you enjoy them with others.

The post Oakaloosa Early Bird Tickets: Going Fast! appeared first on Oakaloosa Music Festival.

The five original members of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony will descend on Detroit this summer, performing together for their 20 year anniversary reunion. But it won’t be at a standard arena: the group will be performing ’90s hits like “Ghetto Cowboy” at Oakaloosa, a brand-new, all-day music festival that happens to be held at an 1840s-era army fort on the Detroit River.

Bone Thugs and mashup king Girl Talk are the headliners for the July 27 festival, which will bring 12 hours of nonstop music to Historic Fort Wayne. Festival-goers will hear the sounds from two stages set up near the river and the property’s barracks. For many Detroiters, it will be their first time stepping across the moat and inside this relic of history.

More artists will be announced as July approaches, but so far the lineup showcases some of the state’s top talent, including Royce da 5’9, Jessica Hernandez & the Deltas and Ro Spit.

(Via Ashley Woods of Huffington Post)

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Hi, I’m Hubert and I’ll be your social resource for all things Oakaloosa. Any tweet or status update you see, it is likely I am behind it. When I’m not managing Oakaloosa’s social channels, you can find in most places on the web as “HubertGAM”.

Girl Talk and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony need no introduction. Yet we would be remiss if we didn’t put in the work to get you fired-up over our Oakaloosa headliners.

Oakaloosa Headliner: Girl Talk

The man born Gregg Michael Gillis made tremendous waves in the “early” years of digital music. The mashup craze was just taking shape when Night Ripper crashed ashore media outlets all over the world. Girl Talk brought the highly volatile topic of sampling and fair use, due to his popularity. Regardless where you stand on the issue, the man delivers for his fans. This video of a recent performance in San Fran is proof-positive.

Oakaloosa Headliner: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony

If you came of age in the 90s, then you know how major Bone was. Krayzie, Layzie, Bizzy, Flesh-N-, and Wish dominated the rap charts. E. 1999 Eternal was on constant rotation in cars all over Detroit. Some of us will remember catching the videos on The Box even. Some, kids, some.

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