Tracy Clark Band Is a Finalist in the Bands4Good Challenge

Tracy Clark Band. / Photo via Bands4Good

A cool local band is in the running for some hot prizes this week in a nationwide competition called the Bands4Good Challenge.

The Tracy Clark Band are regulars at Scullers Jazz Club, and they’ve opened for Natalie Cole. Bandmembers Bob Christopherson, Greg Holt, and Casey Scheuerell have ties to Berklee, Boston Arts Academy, and the Boston Pops. This year, the band will be featured with Frankie Avalon and Bobby Rydell.

But right now, Tracy Clark Band’s mission is to win the Bands4Good Challenge, a charity competition with great prizes, like a three-day professional development retreat and home studio equipment.

Bands4Good is an online talent competition and charity benefit highlighting aspiring and established artists who want to make a difference in the world with music. The competition is divided into two segments, an adult open division (in which the Tracy Clark Band is competing) and a school division. Several different prize packages are awarded to the judges’ favorites, the acts that raise the most donations, and even Best in Genre awards.

In short, the artists are judged on three fronts: talent, fan votes, and dollars raised for charity. The smooth instrumentals and Clark’s velvety vocals has so far garnered the Tracy Clark Band more than 23,000 votes and $610.

According to the website, when asked why music education is important to the band, Clark replied that her personal background and her bandmates’ careers as music teachers were major factors:

Three of my band members are music professors—two at Berklee, one at Boston Arts Academy. They have dedicated their lives to music, playing and teaching. I was raised in a musical family. My brothers and I all played instruments, as did my father. We were lucky because our parents made sure we had music in our lives. Many kids, especially in inner cities, do not have those opportunities. Music is so important. It helps with one’s math brain and is an outlet for shy kids and kids that aren’t necessarily mainstream. Music is a place to take chances and express oneself. It can be done alone, or in groups. Music saved me in my high school years where I felt I didn’t fit in. It was and continues to be a place where I feel most genuine.

Below, listen to the Tracy Clark Band perform “It’s Over” (via Bands4Good).

To learn more and vote for Tracy Clark Band, visit Bands4Good.com. The contest ends Wednesday, January 21.

Hear more Tracy Clark on ReverbNation.com.