Aloft Hotels, Marriott International’s brand for music lovers and music makers, joined forces with Universal Music Group (UMG) to launch Project: Aloft Star, an artist discovery competition giving artists around the world a chance to kick-start their music careers, and Project: Aloft Star Tour, a multi-city tour celebrating UMG’s emerging artists. With a focus on developing emerging musicians, Project: Aloft Star Tour is taking some of UMG’s hottest breakthrough artists on the road, hitting some of the great music cities in North and Central America to host free music performances in the brand’s signature W XYZ bars at Aloft Hotels.

The free performances kicked off with Years & Years in Philadelphia on June 23, Tank and the Bangas in New Orleans on August 9, and Bea Miller in Asheville on August 21. The fourth stop of the tour featured STANAJ and Fátima Pinto at the Aloft San José in Costa Rica, where guests enjoyed the live performances along with festival-inspired food and tech-driven beverages. The tour will continue with BANNΞRS in Denver on October 17 and a finale event in Austin on November 1 where the Project: Aloft Star finalists will perform and a winner will be chosen.

After receiving a record number of entries, the finalists in this year’s competition include solo artist Camden, indie pop band The Eiffels and sister duo guitar act REYNA, who will now receive individual mentoring sessions from X Ambassadors, this year’s Project: Aloft Star mentors. Fans and music lovers are encouraged to vote for their favorite of the artists now through October 22. All three finalists will perform in front of a panel of industry judges at the Project: Aloft Star Tour finale event at Aloft Austin Downtown to compete for the coveted prize, which includes an opportunity to record a single at the legendary Capitol Studios in Hollywood, mentoring from UMG’s executives and 500,000 rewards points redeemable for Marriott International hotel stays. The winner will then be chosen from a combination of the public vote and the panel of judges’ scores.

As a truly global hotel brand, competitions are also running with Aloft Hotels and UMG in the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and Europe to find the next big music stars in these regions. Additionally, all Aloft Hotels around the world host regular live music evenings in their W XYZ bars with local up-and-coming talent as part of the brand’s Live At Aloft Hotels music program.

While the tour is open to the public, the best way to experience it is as a member of Marriott’s loyalty programs Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) and Marriott Rewards. Special member benefits include a skip the line pass, artist meet & greets, and destination packages, all available for redemption with Starpoints and Marriott Rewards points through SPG Moments and Marriott Rewards Moments.

By Kinya Claiborne, STYLE & SOCIETY