But first… we’re thrilled to announce that New Orleans-based Brazilian funk band Lapis is returning to the fold! They’ll close the two-night extravaganza for us on Thursday, October 29 after their stellar performance during last year’s event.
With that, here’s when everyone will be joining us later this month at Gasa Gasa (4920 Freret St., New Orleans) — below the ticket link buttons, of course. 😉
The official after-hours showcases of NOLA MusiCon 2026!
Join us in The Big Easy this #SpookySZN for Crescent City Crossroads II, the official after-hours showcases of NOLA MusiCon extravaganza!
Crescent City Crossroads II will take place the first two nights of the conference — that’s October 28 and 29 — at Gasa Gasa (4920 Freret St.). Each lineup will feature an array of artists from a variety of genres and locales. Artists from Nashville and New York will join some of New Orleans’ own to celebrate the city’s rich cultural heritage.
Keep an eye out for lineup details, and make sure you get your badge for NOLA MusiCon 2026!
The official after-hours showcases of NOLA MusiCon 2026!
Join us in The Big Easy this #SpookySZN for Crescent City Crossroads II, the official after-hours showcases of NOLA MusiCon extravaganza!
Crescent City Crossroads II will take place the first two nights of the conference — that’s October 28 and 29 — at Gasa Gasa (4920 Freret St.). Each lineup will feature an array of artists from a variety of genres and locales. Artists from Nashville and New York will join some of New Orleans’ own to celebrate the city’s rich cultural heritage.
Keep an eye out for lineup details, and make sure you get your badge for NOLA MusiCon 2026!
Last week, we broke the news that NOLA MusiCon’s Crescent City Crossroads showcases — a big hit during last year’s conference — were returning as a two-night extravaganza in The Big Easy later this month.
This year’s showcases will take place October 28 and 29 at Gasa Gasa (4920 Freret St., New Orleans), with doors opening each night at 8 p.m. We have artists from multiple cities set to join us — including some of NOLA’s best and brightest rising stars!
Here’s the full artist list. We’re working on finalizing each night’s time slots — and we might have one more addition in the process. In the meantime, get acquainted with the artists who are confirmed to join us!
You have your badge for NOLA MusiCon, taking place in fabulous New Orleans, Louisiana October 28-30. It’s three days full of top-notch music industry education, networking, and live performance.
Speaking of live performance, one reason you’ll want to join us in The Big Easy this #SpookySZN is that we’re putting together another two-night Crescent City Crossroads extravaganza!
Crescent City Crossroads II will take place the first two nights of the conference — that’s October 28 and 29 — at Gasa Gasa (4920 Freret St.). Each lineup will feature an array of artists from a variety of genres and locales. Artists from Nashville and New York will join some of New Orleans’ own to celebrate the city’s rich cultural heritage.
Those lineups and a ticket link will be coming your way next Tuesday, Oct. 13 (after we get back from Confluence Carolinas, which is happening this week). Keep an eye out, and again, get your badge for NOLA!
This week, the Underground Revolution Tour resumes with a trip back home.
First on the agenda: Musikfest, where I’ll be presenting ‘Building Your Authentic Artist Brand’ at the Musikfest Music Industry Conference inside the Musikfest Cafe at SteelStacks on Monday, August 3 beginning at 1 p.m.
In addition to that, I’ll be doing my annual duty overseeing Event Staff operations on the North Side of the festival. I’ll also be checking in to offer my daily Picks of the Platzes alongside Phillip Reese from Your Next Favorite Band, and we’ll have our good friend Ronnie Stoeckel running around taking photos of the ‘Fest, with Rockin’ Ronnie’s Mega Musikfest Recap coming to The Blog the following week.
After that (and some hard-earned beach time immediately after Musikfest), we’ll pop up to Cookstown, Ontario for our third consecutive year attending Gussapolooza Music Festival. We have some special things planned for the occasion – we’ll be interviewing artists and attendees, and capturing content all weekend long. (Not to mention, there are some photos from last year’s festival that still need to make their way online…)
After THAT, we have a massive fall planned for you in Nashville!
Among the things that you can expect this fall:
Our first-ever Content Day, sponsored by the UMC Creator Lab.
Revamped, simplified UnderDogs membership tiers, aimed to add value to our community while lowering the barrier to entry.
More music reviews, a new and improved UMC20 playlist, and the return of our Official Podcast, The Quinn Spinn.
The continued growth and evolution of the UMC Creator Lab.
Live performance and networking opportunities across Nashville.
We’ll also be taking a look at our educational offerings through UMC Academy, and developing ways to improve access to UnderDogs and the community at large.
And, speaking of education, we’re making our plans to return to a couple of our favorite conferences in the fall – Confluence Carolinas (Oct. 7-10 in Charlotte, NC) and NOLA MusiCon (Oct. 28-30 in New Orleans, LA). We hope you’ll join us!
One more thing: following our Creator Lab crowdfunding campaign, many folks who pledged made their contributions directly to support the project. If you are one of them, you can expect your perks to be fulfilled and shipped to you during the first half of September.
So far, 2026 has been a year of new ways forward and exciting possibilities. We’re proud of what we’ve built together, and we’re excited to keep going!
We’re just a few weeks away from hitting the road, as we resume our Underground Revolution Tour in some of our favorite cities and towns across North America.
That leaves us with a couple of October adventures which still have early bird passes on sale… for now!
You have until this Sunday, July 5 to purchase badges at the lowest rates for two of our favorite music conferences. Both of these events provide you with a prime opportunity to learn, connect, and collaborate with artist-focused professionals from across the music ecosystem — all while immersing yourself in the rich cultural heritage of each region!
Don’t wait! As of July 6, badge rates for both of these conferences will increase. We look forward to seeing you in Charlotte and New Orleans this fall!
For the past two years, we’ve concluded October — and the year’s tour schedule — by taking a trip to New Orleans for NOLA MusiCon, a platform for artists and industry professionals to connect, learn, and inspire during three days of informative panels, inspiring interviews, and unparalleled networking.
This October 28-30, we’ll make it three in a row. NOLA MusiCon is BACK for 2026!
We hope you’ll join us once again in The Big Easy, and we’re excited to be a part of this incredible community once again. Details on conference and live music programming are sure to come in the weeks and months ahead. In the meantime, keep an eye out, because early bird badges will soon be made available for just $99 until July 1.
Want an inside look at our experience at NOLA MusiCon 2025? Relive the magic with our official vlogumentary, produced by our friends and fellow UnderDogs at NuRenaissance.
A New Year has begun, and with it, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to connect with the music industry (and the creative world at large) throughout 2026.
We have seen first-hand that venturing out into the world and exploring the greater creative landscape can be transformative, leading to new ideas, partnerships, and collaborations that will elevate not only your creative platform, but those of the people around you. Not to mention, traveling gives you an opportunity to see new places, meet new people, and create unforgettable experiences.
With that, we’re here to give you a list of some of our favorite music industry conferences and festivals that will be well worth your time to check out in 2026.
You know about this one, right? Going strong since 1987, SXSW is the crossroads where creatives from all over the world come together to push creativity, technology, and society forward. Music is still very much a core component of the annual conference and festival.
The networking opportunities at SXSW — and all throughout Austin that week — are second to none. In our travels last year, we connected with so many new friends and collaborators whom either led to or enhanced our involvement in some of the other events on this list. If you’re looking for a tone-setter to kick your year into overdrive, this is the one!
A brand-new conference from the folks at Jump Global, Hits Home bills itself as “your space to reconnect — with the music, the mission, and the community that makes it all possible.” While speakers and schedule details are still forthcoming, the conference promises an alternative approach, pledging to“feature people and perspectives instead of topic-specific panels” alongside surprise moments peppered throughout the experience. Color us intrigued!
This also fills an important need in the Nashville landscape. With Music Biz migrating to Atlanta last year (and with other planned locations in the works), Nashville was left without a music conference that isn’t genre-specific. Hits Home has the potential to become Music City’s signature industry event.
Now in its second year as the re-imagined Canadian Music Week, Departure presents an opportunity to learn everything there is to know about the music industry North of the Border. The conference’s programming continues to expand, with seven planned conference tracks spanning music, technology, marketing, and more. Speakers at last year’s conference included Bryan Adams, Shaggy, Lindsay Ell, Chantal Kreviazuk, and many more.
In similar fashion to its U.S.-based cousin, SXSW London provides a global stage for the creators driving society forward. Based in Shoreditch in the heart of East London, this event (and the city in which its based) provides you and your music a gateway to the other side of Planet Earth, as well as an opportunity to discover new artists and iconic venues.
Musikfest (Bethlehem, PA) July 31-August 9 (Conference Aug. 2-4)
Of course, this list wouldn’t be complete without the nation’s largest free, non-gated music festival (and the pride and joy of our original hometown)!
Now in its 43rd year, Musikfest features close to 500 free performances by independent artists from over the world, as well as a full slate of renowned headliners every year. This year also marks the return of the Musikfest Music Industry Conference, a three-day opportunity to network, learn, and connect within the music industry. (Did we mention that we’re already planning to be involved?)
Heading a bit further into Ontario, this three-day, all-indie festival has become a staple of our year. A community-grown effort started by Russ and Valerie Robson, Gussapolooza features three stages, a vendor and artisan village, educational opportunities, on-site camping, and plenty of opportunities to connect before, during, and after festival hours. Not to mention, the lineup always provides a healthy sampling of North America’s hungriest, most talented independent artists. Our summer simply wouldn’t be complete without this one!
The Queen City is alive with arts and culture, and Confluence does an excellent job bringing the region’s top creative minds together to explore the many gems Charlotte has to offer. Of course, this occurs within the greater context of music industry education, with Charlotte’s reputation as a financial powerhouse playing a key role in helping independent artists and other changemakers move toward building sustainable careers.
NOLA MusiCon (New Orleans, LA) Dates TBD (Late October)
For the past two years, NOLA MusiCon has served as our grand tour finale. You can bet that we’ll be back again for the third consecutive year!
NOLA MusiCon brings professionals from across the musical world to the Big Easy. Attendees have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the city’s unique culture while learning from some of the best and brightest the industry has to offer. Overall, NOLA MusiCon combines New Orleans’ rich cultural heritage with the latest industry knowledge, all while advocating for a richer and more diverse music ecosystem.
Previous speakers include Nardwuar the Human Serviette, Dawn Richard, Samantha Fish, Todd Rundgren, and many more.
Before NOLA MusiCon officially kicks off this Tuesday, we invite you to get a head start on the festivities — whether you’re in New Orleans, or anywhere in the world with internet!
Immediately following our Have You Met…? interview broadcast, we’ll stay put at Cafe Istanbul (2372 St. Claude Ave., New Orleans) to offer you a special UnderDogs Across Borders lineup, featuring artists from across the Southeastern U.S. Several UnderDogs are making the trip to perform alongside rising stars on the New Orleans local scene, offering an exciting preview of the magic to come throughout the week.
The event is open to the public for a $10 suggested donation, which will directly support our ongoing UnderDogs Across Borders campaign. And, if you can’t attend in person, we have good news: this one will be broadcast on YouTube, as well! Funds from this campaign help us connect our creative community to amazing opportunities across the musical landscape — just like those we’ve helped create this year in the Big Easy!
As for the lineup? We think you’ll like it! It features performances from (in order of appearance):
