BW&BK; has received the following press release:

Center Stage Management and In Move announce their first Gulf/German collaboration to introduce United We Rock, an online voting system for next year’s opening act of both Desert Rock Festival (March 6th - 7th, 2009) in Dubai and With Full Force (July 3rd-5th, 2009) in Germany. Submissions start now.

Crossing borders: from the UAE to Germany:

Center Stage Management (CSM) celebrated their fifth Dubai Desert Rock Festival in March 2008 with 11 international bands (including OPETH) and 2 local bands. One of them was selected from an audition named Shamal Battle of the Bands held a few days before, whose winner opened up for the event on both days.

Shamal Battle of the Bands was created in 2005 and is a major component of CSM’s philosophy to promote local acts. It is an event in itself as it creates real buzz and excitement within the local and regional scenes. For many, Shamal is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Continuously witnessing the enormous potential of unknown artists spread across the Middle East, CSM decided to develop the concept into a greater opportunity for them, offering the chance to perform at both Desert Rock and With Full Force festivals, established in the hard rock capitals of Asia and Europe: Dubai and Germany!

When Lara Teperdjian, Executive Vice-President of CSM, shared her idea of expanding the concept of Shamal by having the winner perform at another festival too, she found Sven Borges, organizer of With Full Force, was on the same wavelength.

The regional battle of the bands matured into United We Rock.

Online battle of the bands:

The concept: Unsigned rock bands from Germany and the Middle East must download and fill in the application form from the official website and submit all that is required, before 31st October 2008, to their country’s festival’s organizers.

The finalists’ biographies, photographs, videos and original songs will be uploaded online for visitors to elect the opening act who will perform at both festivals.

Flights and accommodation in Dubai and Germany will be covered by the organizers (subject to visa approvals). For more information and to consult the rules & regulations, refer to the official website www.unitedwerockbattle.com.