Entering its tenth year, LAUNCH Music Conference & Festival is set to return to the beautiful Lancaster, PA on April 12 - 15, 2018. The jam-packed event - full of panels, seminars, parties, events, and performances - has welcomed some of today's top musicians such as Panic! at the Disco, Atreyu, twenty one pilots, Meghan Trainor, Foxy Shazam, PnB Rock, and Yazz the Greatest (B. Gray of TV's "Empire") as well as music executives to speak and perform to a crowd of artists and industry go-getters. LAUNCH Music Conference & Festival is thrilled to announce the return of Fest Friday, the only night where every LAUNCH attendee is gathered, during the nighttime programming. The all ages event will take place at Binns Park on April 13th and include food, drinks, and alcohol on site. Attendance is free to all LAUNCH badge holders and open to the public for $10. Fest Friday will feature 15 acts across 3 stages with over 5 hours of music including America's #1 Blink-182 tribute band, Blink 180 True, Lancaster's own Stonewall Vessels who bring a broad musical palette that will sure to draw in fans with their pure rock n' roll sound, and Stacked Like Pancakes, a boisterous Baltimore-based brass-rock band with an ultra high-energy live show will have everyone dancin' in no time! Conference Co-Director, and Founder, Jeremy Weiss, shares:

"I wanted to organize one special event within LAUNCH, where there'd be no concurrent programming; where every attendee would gather together in one place, along with the greater Lancaster community, for a night of terrific music, food and drink, and a heck of a good time. The outdoor experience and splendor of Binns Park, and the incredible energy of the people and performers gathered there, make this particular event incredibly special.  All of us at LAUNCH are SO EXCITED for return of Fest Friday at LAUNCH Music Conference & Festival 2018!" - Jeremy Weiss

Stacked Like Pancakes vocalist Kellen McKay, had this to say about their appearance/performance:  

"Every year Launch Music Conference comes to a close, my immediate thought is that I cannot wait for the next year. This will be our 5th year attending and performing. This isn't just a gig - LAUNCH is an experience, and one that we can credit as the root of many of our achievements in recent years. Needless to say, I am so pumped to be playing Fest Friday with Stacked Like Pancakes at LAUNCH 2018!" - Kellen McKay

The weekend of LAUNCH Music Conference & Festival features a number of events including a screening of the world premiere of the Lancaster metal documentary, Barn Burner, The Ride of The Lancaster County Metal Scene, which will take place at Freedom Hall A at The Lancaster County Convention Center on Thursday, April 12th at 7pm. Spotlighting acts such as August Burns Red, Texas In July, This or The Apocalypse, and more, the documentary takes the audience on a remarkable journey of the heavy/metalcore scene from Lancaster County, an area considered to be a quiet, steady conservative Christian community. But the party doesn't stop there as the weekend continues with a special performance from two-time Grammy-nominated band and Lancaster natives, August Burns Red, on Saturday, April 14th at 5pm at Freedom Hall in The Lancaster County Convention Center in Historic Downtown Lancaster. Members of August Burns Red have offered their expertise at several different LAUNCH annual events, but will be performing for the first time at the festival in celebration of their 15 year anniversary as a band. The performance will include guest appearances by members of the band's line-up during their earliest years, from both their debut Looks Fragile After All and Thrill Seeker records. Tickets for the documentary screening and special performance from August Burns Red are available at LaunchMusicConference.com.

Admission is included to both events, and all LAUNCH programming throughout the weekend, to those who purchase a LAUNCH 2018 VIP Badge. This badge provides attendance to each of the 140+ live performances by night throughout the City of Lancaster, including the newly installed Fest Friday outdoor concert event. The badge also provides full access to the LAUNCH daytime educational program, consisting of panels and sessions that feature dozens of the country's foremost music industry professionals, speaking on their respective areas of expertise, for aspiring artists and persons seeking to learn more about the industry.  

In speaking on the conference portion at LAUNCH, co-Director Jen Kellogg says, "We are looking forward to another great year of conference programing to help our developing artists and aspiring industry professionals take their career to the next level. In addition to many returning speakers and favorite sessions, we are working to bring in new faces to the conference to keep it fresh, relevant, and extra informative."

Review and select attendance options, programming details, and lodging arrangements by visiting: www.LaunchMusicConference.com