MINNEAPOLIS — Five local artists are putting the Minneapolis music scene on the map after winning Coast to Coast, a national competition by streaming service Lüm and audio tech retailer Soundcore.
Artist NoTrace posted an Instagram video of himself in tears after the competition wrapped up Wednesday this week.
"I definitely wouldn't usually post that but it was just real," NoTrace said.
To qualify, he submitted his track called "The Final Master." And a final master he was. It also turns out the Lüm and Soundcore judges not only loved his entry but also "Bang Bro$" by J. Plaza ft. Shy Grey, "All I want" by Diwan Smith, "Stop Testing Me" by Bayo ft. Mpls Drew, and "Fancy Car" by Mac Turner.
The judges picked five artists to represent each of the more than 30 participating cities, including powerhouses Atlanta, New York, and LA. So although NoTrace, J. Plaza, Diwan Smith, Bayo, and Mac Turner are individual artists, they competed together as Team Minneapolis.
After the round with the judges, the competition advanced to several online voting rounds. Team Minneapolis reached out to as many people in their networks as possible, encouraging them to vote.
"I'm seeing like green check, Minneapolis, green check, Minneapolis," J. Plaza said. "I'm like okay let's really go hard."
"We put that extra turbo in and we just didn't stop," Smith added.
Then it was down to the championship round of Minneapolis versus Florida. Minneapolis wins.
"Your reaction was hilarious," Smith said to Bayo in a KARE 11 interview Friday.
"I left work," Bayo said, laughing. "I was at work at the time. Just ran through the parking lot."
He too shot a reaction video of himself after finding out they won the competition and its $25,000 reward.
"I was surprised by all the people who were like I've been voting this whole contest so that's what got me," NoTrace said. "It was just all the love and support that you don't get to see as indie artists."
The guys will split the prize money and there's a lot they plan to do with $5,000 each. Some of them say they plan to invest in new recording gear.
You know, to keep making music that wins.