Xconomy will be quiet today so that we and our readers can celebrate the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and participate in the King Day of Service.
Tomorrow, on the other hand, Xconomy will be very, very loud. That’s when we (by which I mean emcee extraordinaire Wade) and a few dozen of our newest friends (by which I mean the members of six wicked-good local* bands representing seven New England technology companies) take the stage at the Middle East in Cambridge’s Central Square for the Battle of the Tech Bands.
We’re ridiculously excited about the event. One of the ideas that drove the formation of Xconomy in the first place was the idea that, as vibrant and important as the local innovation ecosystem is, it can be weirdly isolating as well. We heard time and again from our advisers, our investors, and, eventually, our readers that the stakeholders in the tech economy—scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, investors, students, and others—are hungry for new opportunities to connect with one another. And when you said “new,” we heard, “more fun.” And when we heard “more fun,” we thought, “more music, more beer, more snack food, fewer ties.”
Flash forward several months of planning, and we’ve got all of that accounted for, plus a metric ton of prizes—for the bands and for the audience. Our hope is you’ll walk into the Middle East tomorrow night at 7:00 with a few business cards (you’ll need one to enter the raffle) and your cell phone (you’ll need it to vote for the bands) and stagger out a few hours later under a load of new ideas and acquaintances, enough good music to last you to spring, and maybe a Zune or a Rock Band bundle. (If you win one of the two Rock Band packages you really will be staggering; Harmonix Music Systems puts 20 pounds or so of gear in the box. Microsoft’s portable music player, of which five are now up for grabs, is clearly a bit more, you know, portable.)
So serve up and rest up today, and join us at the Middle East tomorrow.
Tickets are on sale here or at the door. My write-up about the bands and the tech companies they represent is here—with links to their sites in case you want to start learning the lyrics and picking your favorites—and the Boston Herald‘s account is here. Hope to see you soon!
* by which I mean based in the Boston area or willing to schlep here for the Battle
