What's in a Name?

Last week, Dfest co-founders Tom Green and Angie Devore-Green announced the second and final round of headliners and emerging artists for this year's Diversafest Music Festival and Conference.

The festival will be held July 24th and 25th in downtown's Blue Dome District.

The expanded list of headliners now include Cake, Mates of State, Ra Ra Riot, Dengue Fever, The Cool Kids, Carney, Ian Moore, Here II Here and Manda Mosher. These bands join a previously announced roster that includes The Black Crowes, Blue October, Gil Mantera's Party Dream, Gogol Bordello, Ozomatli, The Uglysuit, Dub Trio and Joe Pug.

"With roughly two months to go until show time, we are in awe of the way this year's Dfest has mushroomed into our biggest and most diverse event ever," Tom Green said. "The support and enthusiasm of our new sponsors, partners and venues has created an unprecedented level of energy and excitement."

The lengthy list of emerging and unsigned artists now includes local favorites Astellaway, Ben Kilgore, Billy Joe Winghead, Motive for Movement, My Solstice, Paul Benjaman Band, Ptiaradactyl and Recorder. This is just a small fraction of the dozens of bands slated to perform; a complete list can be found at www.dfest.com.

This year, the Grammy Foundation and MusiCares will play a major role in the festival's daytime conference happenings, which has expanded to include a music manager's forum (which will discuss the state of the music industry today) and a yoga conference hosted with the cooperation of wellness leaders from across the state.

MusiCares offers programs and services to members of the music community including emergency financial assistance for basic living expenses including rent, utilities and car payments; medical expenses including doctor, dentist and hospital bills; psychotherapy; and treatment for critical illnesses. It offers nationwide educational workshops covering a variety of subjects, including financial, legal, and medical and substance abuse issues, and programs in collaboration with healthcare professionals that provide services such as flu shots, hearing tests and medical/dental screenings.

The GRAMMY Foundation® was established in 1989 to cultivate the understanding, appreciation and advancement of the contribution of recorded music to American culture.

Tickets for this year's festival will range from $32 (one-day pass) to $186 (for Yoga Pass, Conference Badge and Two-Day Music Pass).

Subhead

This year, Dfest will also act as something of a primer for the Absolute Best Music Awards, which will take place August 8 at Cain's Ballroom, 423 N. Main. The event is an expansion of Urban Tulsa Weekly's Absolute Best of Tulsa awards and is meant to celebrate and expose Tulsa's best and most popular local artists.

A complete list of nominations will be announced in the June 11th issue of UTW. Readers and fans will be able to go online and vote for their favorite bands and musicians. Because it's an event driven by popular opinion, local acts are encouraged to campaign for votes.

It's going to be a fun, competitive and energetic addition to the local music scene that will culminate in a blowout gala and awards ceremony on August 8. Nominees in the Band of the Year category will likely have the chance to perform on the Cain's stage for an all-ages crowd. Awards will include trophies, prize packages and gift bags.

A link on the Urban Tulsa Web site (www.urbantulsa.com) will take voters to a site that will include mp3 listening options and MySpace links so that each voter can have the chance to hear all the nominated artists.

Many of the artists will also be performing during Dfest, which will be the perfect opportunity for fans to become more acquainted with the nominees' music.