Recently, a number of friends expressed their disappointment because one of their favorite artists is coming to town and they did not learn about this until the day after the tickets went on sale. Unfortunately, the tickets sold out the first day. If this has ever happened to you, take note, Songkick may be just the ticket. Songkick is a service that houses a database consisting of concert happenings from around the world, based on information collected from 136 different ticket vendors, venue websites, and local newspapers. With Songkick, you can track the music you like, by either artist or venue. Based on your selections, Songkick will begin to monitor concert activity for the selected artist(s) and send information to you via a customized email alert for everything that you are tracking. There is nothing else for you to do. It is just that easy. (This week, I received an email notification that Incognito and Kindred the Family Soul will be in town soon.) Once you are notified of a concert, you can then purchase tickets via the site and subsequently have the concert details exported into your personal calendar of choice (Google Calendar, Outlook, or iCal). Additional features make Songkick a very impressive service. Select artists to track in bulk by utilizing the Pandora, Last.fm, or iTunes application options. Invite and follow friends via the Facebook tool. Document concert experience, past and present, with gigography (which is my favorite feature). Let Songkick be part of your concert experience before, during, and after the show. To sign up for Songkick, visit www.sidekick.com.
Minka Wiggins is the Music Diva for CONNECT and the owner/publisher of Aural Notes a music blog developed toacquaint true music lovers to a plethora of music, across genres and styles, not generally promoted through traditional media. Visit www.auralnotes.com.
