LAUNCH Music Conference and Festival returns to Historic Downtown Lancaster April 30-May 3, 2020.
Now entering its TWELFTH year, LAUNCH Music Conference has redefined what a start-up music conference could be, bringing together musicians, music industry professionals and music lovers from all over the world to downtown Lancaster, PA, for a weekend of instruction, networking, and entertainment. Showcasing artists ranging from Grammy-nominees to high school upstarts, from regional touring acts to major label veterans.
LAUNCH has attracted a wide swath of respected, relevant industry experts who speak on panels, mentor musicians and attend conferences, from label reps to booking agents to managers, instrument sponsors, publicists, and manufacturers-- In short: every type of contact a working artist needs in order to function in the current music business landscape.
The mission of LAUNCH Music Conference & Festival is to serve aspiring musicians and industry professionals from across the country & around the world, employing the expertise of an array of elite industry professionals, while maintaining unparalleled low pricing for all attendees, even FREE attendance for those who submitted for performance consideration. Each year LAUNCH Music Conference strives to redefine what a music conference can be, bringing together musicians and industry professionals for a weekend of instruction, networking and entertainment.
LAUNCH Music Conference and Festival is only made possible by the support of our many generous brand partners, including Bud Light, Stella Artois, Goose Island, Bon & Viv, Reverbnation, City of Lancaster, PA, Atomic Design, PRS Guitars, GHS Strings, York College, D'Addario, SoundRink, SJC Drums, and more.
For the fourth year in a row, FEST Friday will be held at Binns Park, which is directly across the street from our home base at the Holiday Inn Downtown. This "event within the event" will feature various artists on multiple stages, food trucks, libations, and more! This year, FEST Friday will coincide with Downtown Lancaster's time-honored First Friday tradition, attracting an average of 10,000 Lancaster County residents to the Downtown area, the first Friday of each calendar month, on average.
Despite its historically low attendance fees, LAUNCH is repeatedly ranked as one of the Top 5 music conferences in the world. We have grown exponentially since the pilot year in 2009.
Past performers and panelists include Atreyu, August Burns Red, Dredg, The Early November, Emarosa, Felice Brothers, Foxy Shazam, Ice Nine Kills, Meaghan Trainor, Panic! At The Disco, Rusted Root, Twenty One Pilots, Whitechapel, Holly Williams and more.
Former panelists include Kevin Lyman (Vans Warped Tour), Randy Nichols (Force Management), Talinda Bennington (320 Changes Direction), Mike Mowery (Outerloop Management), Vince Edwards (Metal Blade Records), Lou Plaia (ReverbNation), Nick Storch (Artist Group International), David Silbaugh (Milwaukee Summerfest) Kyla Lombardo (Firefly Festival, Riot Fest) and many more.