Win an Epiphone “Thunderhorse” Explorer Guitar or Gallien-Krueger MB 500 Lightweight Bass Amp in the WESFEST 8 Concert Gear Giveaway!

WESFEST 8 ~ which this year takes place on March 3 at The Roxy in Hollywood, CA, features the live debut of headliner Brendon Small’s Galaktikon (the critically acclaimed side-project of Brendon Small ~ the creative mastermind behind the smash-hit animated [Adult Swim] TV show “Metalocalypse” and the band Dethklok) recently announced that sponsors Epiphone Guitars and Gallien-Krueger are giving away some awesome gear to two lucky attendees of the WESFEST 8 benefit concert. Fans can win an Epiphone “Thunderhorse” Explorer Guitar or a Gallien-Krueger MB 500 Lightweight Bass Amp. To win, all you have to do is buy tickets to WESFEST 8, show up, and you’ll automatically be eligible to win one of the two items. For more info & contest details, visit weswehmiller.net/wesfest8geargiveaway.

WESFEST 8 is a benefit concert whose net proceeds go to benefit the Wes Wehmiller Endowed Scholarship at Berklee College of Music. The scholarship fund honors Wes Wehmiller (1971-2005), a Berklee graduate (’92) and highly accomplished bassist, athlete and photographer who died of thyroid cancer in January 2005. Established by his family and friends, the Wes Wehmiller Endowed Scholarship is awarded annually to a continuing student at Berklee who best exemplifies the excellence and grace Wehmiller showed as a bassist and as a human being. The WESFEST concert series and related fundraising drive has raised more than $150,000 over the past seven years. This year, the goal is to raise $25,000.

To raise awareness about WESFEST 8: A Concert to Benefit the Wes Wehmiller Endowed Scholarship at Berklee College of Music, Brendon Small recently sat down with MetalSucks.net to chat with them about his “favorite” festival experience. Needless to say, Brendon tells a detailed and hysterical story from the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival! Read Brendon’s festival story HERE.

The live band required to pull off the multi-layered music of Brendon Small’s Galaktikon will contain four guitarists, including L.A.-based guitarist and former Musicians Institute Guitar Program Director Jude Gold (Jefferson Starship, Billy Sheehan), Mike Keneally (Dethklok, Frank Zappa, Joe Satriani), Rick Musallam (Ben Taylor, Carly Simon), and Small himself. Additional band members include keyboardist/guitarist Walter Ino, bassist Bryan Beller (Dethklok, Steve Vai, The Aristocrats),drummer Tim Yeung (Morbid Angel), and vocalists Ben Thomas (Zappa Plays Zappa), Kira Small (Peter Frampton, Martina McBride), Ali Handal (Neil Young, Paul Williams) and Jude Crossen (Patti Austin, Lee Ritenour, Phil Perry). This year’s line-up also features Derek Frank, Ali Handal, Janet Robin, Joe Travers & Friends, Colin Keenan, and Danny Mo & The Exciters (featuring 2012 Wehmiller Scholarship winner Jed Lingat).

WESFEST 8 advance tickets are available through March 1 for $35 per pair of tickets or $20 per single ticket. Tickets are $30 each at the door. Ticket orders and donations will be accepted via check or credit card. Complete ordering instructions and procedures can be found online HERE.

The event is sponsored by Gallien-Krueger Amplification, Mike Lull Custom Guitars, D’Addario Strings, Epiphone Guitars, and Studio Instrument Rentals (S.I.R.).

For any questions about ordering tickets or donating to the fundraising drive, please contact Peter Gordon at 818.380.3041 or pgordon (at) berklee.edu.