We wish to encourage collaborative International tours and music exchanges
The principal is simple: everyone thinks that everyone else's backyard is exotic, so why not host a couple of bands on your gig circuit in return for those bands doing the same for you?
Most of the acts on this site have either taken part in one of our tour partnerships or have applied for one of our events and scored highly with our peer review and therefore share this philosophy and actively live it.
For those musicians approaching us and wishing to be friends of CMEAS we suggest that you first contact one of our existing friends who's music you enjoy and ask them to check you out. If they also enjoy your music we will then gladly accept your friendship offer.
It is hoped that this will be a first step in working out tour collaborations for you, whether within your own country or across the globe.
Recently, we have had a number of such collaborations turn out very well: Oh My God (Chicago) and Breaking Laces (NYC), Fluttr Effect (Boston) and Brother Big Bad (Minneapolis), Big Baby Ernie (New Jersey Shore) and Kalvin Koolidge (NYC), and Banooba (NYC) and Gandhi (Costa Rica) with the Convulsions (UK).
If you have questions about tour collaboration, CMEAS, who we are, where we are, where we came from, or anything else for that matter, feel free to contact us at info@cmeas.com or check the CMEAS website at www.cmeas.com
Main Upcoming Events
Upcoming events include:
UK October Tour 2008 - Oct. 1st-10th, 2008
The Chicago Music Explosion, now in its 7th year, presents two USA acts on
tour in the UK playing 12 shows from Oct. 1st through Oct. 10th, 2008
propelled by a bus running on vegetable oil.
Butch Ross of Chattanooga, Tennessee has been called "the Bela Fleck of
the mountain dulcimer". String backwards and held like a guitar, he
employs a variety of techniques borrowed from mandolin, guitar, banjo and
even the South American quarto to play everything from traditional folk
and old-time music, to contemporary music, original compositions and even
the occasional Bach piece. www.butchross.com
Matt O'Ree, of New Jersey, has been crowned "King of the Blues guitar" by
bluesman B.B. King and with his band, has won four 2005 Asbury Music
Awards at the Legendary Stone Pony for Best Blues Band, Best Guitarist,
Best Local Release - "Shelf Life", Best Song of the Year - "Saints &
Sinners", has been a finalist in the Jimi Hendrix Electric Guitar
Competition, and has even been invited to Les Pauls’ birthday bash. www.mattoree.com
One Planet Festival - Lancaster - Oct. 10th-12th, 2008
Kayla Kavanagh, Gerry Jablonski, The Convulsions, Matt O’Ree Band, Butch Ross, New Riverside Jazzband, Slovenian Men’s Choir, and Sam Lay Cuban Jazz Quintet will perform over the One Planet Festival Weekend, Oct. 10th – 12th in venues in the historic city of Lancaster. The musicians will either be powered from sustainable tariffs, don’t need electricity, receive power from sustainably charged batteries, and/or bicycle generators. See www.oneplanetfestival.com for details.
UK Spring Tour 2009
The next UK Spring tour in 2009, that will run from May 6th - May 17th, 2009 will include gigs throughout the UK (see UK Spring Tour 2008 for details).
UK October Tour 2009
The next UK October tour in 2009, that will run from October 1st - October 10th, 2009 will include gigs throughout the UK (see UK October Tour 2009 for details).
We are now taking applications for these events, see www.cmeas.com for information.
Other events are taking place all year long.
For more information on these events visit CMEAS events (www.cmeas.com/events).
Past Events
The Wabash Cannonballs - June 5th-29th 2008
The Wabash Cannonballs revisited the UK after their successfull tours in September 2006 and June 2007!
UK Spring Tour 2008
The Chicago Music Explosion, now in its 7th year, presented two international acts on tour playing 12 shows across the UK from May 7th, through May 18th, 2008 propelled by a bus running on vegetable oil.
Vancouver’s Green TaRA, who, armed with a rare voice, a red guitar and bass-heavy beats, launches "sonic-shrapnel bombs of positivity" (NOW Magazine) contrasted well with Northern Ireland's Hovercraft Pirates’ powerful folk, punk ska “overdriven guitars and groovy drum hooks that will make listeners beg for their live show!" (Radio Indy).
UK October Tour 2007
Curly and the Rocket from Washington DC, joined NYC funksters extraordinaire Banooba for this, our flagship tour of the British Isles. Banooba were invited to co-host this tour after their sensational performance at the CMEAS Costa Rican Tour 2007 in conjunction with previous shortlisted applicants for our 2005 Oct. tour, Gandhi, and the UK group the Convulsions.
See UK October Tour 2007 for details.
Big Baby Ernie - August 18th-September 9th
New Jersey group, Big Baby Ernie (part of CME Oct. 2006 Tour) introduced a strange dance craze to the UK last year ("Funky Hot Grits Pants Party").
Despite this, they'd been asked back to play again in the UK for 3 weeks from August through September and have again left a big impression everywhere they played!
The Wabash Cannonballs - June 7th-30th
Last 3 weeks in June the Wabash Cannonballs revisited the UK after their successfull tour last September and along with gigs in England and Scotland they also played their Northern Ireland debut at the Limavady Festival.
Photos from the Limavady Jazz & Blues Festival in Northern Ireland
Photos courtesy of Eva Ménétrier - Thanks Eva!
CME Spring UK Tour 2007 - May 18th-June 3rd
CME Spring showcase in the UK run from May 18th trough June 3rd and featured award winning Canadian musician and film producer, Ebony Tay, chart topping Australian group, Transport, EMERGENZA 2004 winning USA band, Fluttr Effect, and Minneapolis funk favourites, Brother Big Bad.
The Costa Rican 2007 Tour
The Costa Rican band Gandhi
(www.grupogandhi.com) hosted a tour in the country where they are the most popular band in exchange for a 10 date tour in the UK hosted by the British punk blues band the Convulsions
(www.convulsions.com).
This tour did take place from February 16th through February 25th and included Gandhi, the Convulsions and Banooba, a New York band selected from many acts.
Some photos from the Costa Rica Tour 2007!
Many thanks to Jarrett and Oscar for the photos!
CMEAS UK October Tour 2006
- Big Baby Ernie - Kalvin Koolidge - Laura Younger -
About CME
The CME was founded in 2001 when a Chicago based band the Convulsions started playing regular gigs in the UK (possibly because the lead singer and harmonica player, Ben Ruth, was an expat from England).
Consequently all the Chicago musicians Ben had ever played with also wanted to play in the UK. The first tour comprised no less than five acts, The Convulsions (British punk blues), Kate Brunner (folk), The Juleps (country rock), Pete Special (founder of Big Twist and The Mellow Fellows), Melissa Rose Ziemer (pop, rock), and Soulfix (rock).
The tour was a resounding and critically acclaimed success and set a precedent for tours that showcased a wide variety of superb musical talent on the same bill.
The CME tour has taken place in Britain every year until 2006 when, due to the popularity of the event, it started to run twice a year (once in Spring once in Autumn). Acts involved in CME showcases often go on to establish their own tours in the UK.
In 2005 CME went international and started to include tours with bands from all over the world, not just Chicago, in exchange for tours in their own country (thanks to an ongoing partnership with Sonicbids). CME is now organising events in Holland, Costa Rica and Cuba, in addition to the UK, and hopes to expand its remit to include any excellent band in any country that wishes to exchange gigs.
In 2007 CME is organising no less than 6 international tours.
The goal of CME has always been to foster international musical exchanges, collaboration between musical acts, the sharing of gigs and the enjoyement of playing to appreciative audiences of all ages whether it be high school workshops, festival stages, late night clubs, large fields, motorbike rallies or the smallest pub in Wiltshire (it's called the Bassets' Arms).
We are flattered to be considered friends of the CME. One of our Sonic Bids artists (Sex and Patriotism)placed highly with you and now they have been signed to a double label and have international distribution. We look forward to working on one of your tours in the future. Thanks for all you're doing out there. ~MJ
Hey Hey - it's an honor to be connected. Keep us in the line for some big future events. We are planning on some big things, and would love to connect it up.
We're back (from the depths of Koolidge) with some new tunes. Sounds like you got some real good bands on this tour. That ear is gold! You should throw it up on Ebay.
Bryan cut his eye open on a pint glass and peed on me, we filtered 140 litres of vegetable oil, danced naked on a van, spent 120 quid that night, caught fish off the coast of a haunted island and ate them on the beach, sat in stone circles, saw a football match and enjoyed it thoroughly, rocked the pants off of a community center, ate slow roasted "buddy", fixed the van with a Carlsburg can, and broke down on the way to the airport. Oh yeah, and somewhere in between we played some music. God bless it. Thanks for everything. -Ernie
hey CMEAS, although we did not get picked for the October UK tour, we still love ya and thank ya for the oppritunity.. :)
if any bands on here are interested in coming to Louisville, Ky (our hometown) and letting us come to your hometown, get at us and we can try and make it happen..
our sound is "Alternative R&B" and we are also very interested in getting overseas, so if any promoters are reading this in Europe, Australia, etc, we want to be there..
Look forward to hearing from some /most/or all of you.. peace, greg "trip" and sub-urban situation
Hi everybody, I help to book a "small" pub in Stockholm Sweden. If someone is interested in a band exchange In Europe we might we be able to work something out.
Just a month away and counting!!!!!!! Can't wait to see ya Ben and everyone else....Big Baby Ernie and The Convultions 2007 Tour>>>>>>> Whoot Whoot!!!!!!
