Crowdfunding Campaigns of the Week: Wanda Jackson, globalFEST, and Yep Roc 20

Most of the time, when you hear “crowdfunding campaign”, you think of a new album. That has been, and still remains, the primary driver of music campaigns. But crowdfunding campaigns can be about much more, from archival releases to funding festivals and book projects. This week, I’m bringing you three non-traditional crowdfunding campaigns. One is a book release from an artist who “legend” doesn’t do justice to, a popular music festival with a theme of social justice, and an “everything and more” campaign from one of roots music’s best labels.

Wanda Jackson- Every Night is Saturday Night

Some artists have such interesting lives that a single autobiography hardly does them justice. Wanda Jackson is one of those artists. The “Queen of Rockabilly” has seen, heard, and done just about everything a rock and roller could, from touring with (and dating) Elvis to breaking gender barriers for rock and roll to reviving her career decades later with the help of a young superstar. Wanda Jackson has stories to spare and now she’s sharing them with Every Night is Saturday Night. The autobiography covers her entire career; her start as a country musicians, her first forays into rockabilly when it still barely had a name, the troubles with her racially integrated band touring in the ’60s, and her more recent work with the likes of Jack White and Joan Jett. Backer rewards include a personalized copy of the book, tickets to see Wanda at either the Country Music Hall of Fame or Grammy Museum, and handwritten lyric sheets.

GlobalFEST 2018: 15^th Anniversay Edition

Roots music means something different to every person depending on where you live, and the aim of globalFEST, New York’s festival institution for 15 years, has been to explore those differences. Every year, globalFEST brings twelve artists from around the world to New York. But globalFEST isn’t just a music festival. It also aims to promote cultural diversity in America by bringing artists and fans from around the globe together to prove that, while “roots music” might sound a little different from one place to another, it’s all great music in the end. Backer rewards include regular and two levels of VIP tickets to globalFEST, as well as a “Pitch Ninja” session for musicians with veteran publicist Tristra Newyear, who will help bands develop publicity pitches.

Yep Roc Records- YR20

For two decades now, Yep Roc has been one of the leading roots music labels, releasing music from the likes of Aoife O’Donovan, Nick Lowe, Josh Rouse, Los Straitjackets, Robyn Hitchcock and more. The YR20 crowdfunding campaign isn’t just one campaign but several rolled into one. Yep Roc fans can purchase tickets to the YR20 festival, being held in Hillsborough, NC Oct. 19-21, a subscription to every Yep Roc release in 2018, and a variety of screenprinted items including posters and a dart board.