A DJ competition for glory, a trophy, and a $400 cash prize.
Presented by GODSPEED and hosted at Higher Ground.
Proudly sponsored by Tequila 512.
Main Bracket
Last updated July 26th at 4:54pm.
USB Draw Bracket
USB Draws happen weekly, open to anyone who has not already been eliminated from the USB Draw Bracket. Entrants from the Main Bracket may also enter the USB Draw Bracket after being eliminated.
Last updated July 26th at 4:54pm.
About
The Sonic Summit: Gauntlet is an annual, limited series tournament that aims to highlight the prominently rising talent that exists in our growing hub of electronic music. The gauntlet is a bracket-style, winner-take-all tournament that brings local DJs together in friendly competition to compete for glory within the local scene, a gorgeous professional-grade trophy, perks at the next annual tournament, and a $400 cash prize.
Each week, selected artists will compete head-to-head in scheduled pairings in order to move on to the next match-up. The event will culminate in a grand finale composed of 4 finalists, each showcasing an hour long set. DJs will be judged by a panel of judges composed of a involved stakeholders in the electronic community that represent a panorama of musical taste.
Here's the kicker: because USB draws have been such an important feature of our event, we'd like to keep the spirit alive by allowing entrants via USB draw each week. Every week, one hour will be slotted to the general public for entry via a USB draw, allowing the tide to change at any moment and for a new challenger to enter the fray.
To Enter
1. Ensure that you have an Instagram account and a sample DJ mix between 20 minutes and 45 minutes uploaded to Soundcloud or Mixcloud.
2. Register at www.godspeedtalent.com/register
3. Enroll above by purchising an Artist Entry admission.
4. Ensure that your name, email, and artist name match on your registration and entry admission.
5. Your sample set will be reviewed. If you are selected, you will be notified of your placement upon the bracket. Artist entry submission does not guarantee placement on the bracket.
6. Bracket selections will be made one week in advance for the entirety of Round 1, which concludes on June 12th.
FAQs
“What style of music is allowed?”
“Is it too late to sign up after the tournament has begun?”
“How are you working to make sure that judges are unbiased in their scorings?”
“Am I actually in the tournament if I get picked during a USB draw? How often can I join the USB draw?”
“How long are sets?”
“What equipment do I need to bring?”
All styles of electronic are allowed and encouraged to be a part of the gauntlet. In the early stages of the tournament, we will do our best to group together selected artists of shared genre.
It is not too late! Officially, we will be making placement selections up until June 5th, one week prior to the final first round event. You could still be placed even if you are a late addition!
Each judge is a member of the electronic community who has been selected because of their involvement in the scene and their commitment to running a fair contest.
We are aiming to assemble judges from all different sides and genres of the scene to ensure that we aren’t giving any one genre preferential treatment.
Additionally, artists will be judged on 4 metrics, each laid out in a way that reduces bias and places emphasis on more objective metrics such as pacing, set cohesiveness, stage presence, skill, nuanced song-selection, and unique expressions of creativity.
One of these metrics is crowd reaction— so be sure to bring a few friends!
You are actually in the tournament. The USB Draw bracket is an alternative bracket that will ultimately lead to the finals as well.
The USB Draw is open to (a) anyone who was not originally placed within the tournament, and (b) anyone who has not already been eliminated from the USB Draw bracket.
This means that someone who was eliminated in the standard bracket can re-enter the tournament through the USB Draw bracket one single time.
Please note that if you have not already paid an artist entry fee, a $10 entry fee will be collected when entering into the USB Draw pool.
Round 1 will feature 20 minute sets. Round 2 will feature 30 minute sets.
In the semi-finals (Round 3) and finals (Round 4), artists will present hour long sets and will be compensated for their time.
You will be playing on a provided Pioneer CDJ-3000. Please make sure your USB is properly formatted to run on this device. It is always a good idea to have a backup USB as well.
You are required to provide your own mixing headphones.
Official Rules
1. All participants must be 21 years of age or older.
2. All entrants must register at https://www.godspeedtalent.com/register. It is recommended you opt in for email updates for best updates on the event.
3. Participant residential address must reside within the state of Texas.
4. Artist must have a Soundcloud/Mixcloud account with a at least one sample mix uploaded and an Instagram account.
5. A "no-show" to a scheduled slot results in an immediate disqualification and a barring from the USB draw portion of the event.
6. Slot times may be announced as early as 4 days prior to the event. In the case that you are unable to make your slot, reach out to management@godspeedtalent.com to request a rescheduling.
7. The USB draw portion of the event is only available to (a) DJs who have not been placed in the bracket or (b) have only been eliminated once from the event prior, including any eliminations from a USB draw.
8. Artists are allowed one reschedule each. Unable to make your first re-scheduled event results in an immediate disqualification from the tournament. However, this does not result in a barring from the USB draw portion of the event if you give prior notice to management@godspeedtalent.com.
9. Set times will vary in length, with the earliest rounds composed of 20 minutes and the final rounds composed of 1 hour.
10. DJs must stay strictly within their allotted timeslot. Your raw scoring will be directly affected for every minute you go over your timeslot.
11. Documentable examples of bigoted, hateful, or truly unsportsmanlike speech/behavior surrounding the event, either online or in-person, will result in immediate disqualification, a barring from the USB draw portion of the event, and an expulsion from all future GODSPEED events.
12. Winners of the gauntlet are subject to all legislation and taxes applicable within the state of Texas. Cash prizes will be taxed in accordance with Texas state law.
13. Participants will play on a Pioneer CDJ-3000 controller. Their USBs must be formatted to work on this controller. No headphones will be provided to participants.
14. All participants are subject to repayment of damages to venue equipment. By entering the competition, you are in agreeance to repaying any damages caused by yourself to venue-owned equipment.
15. DJs playing sets scheduled for longer than 30 minutes will be compensated for their time.