BMG Entertainment, The Sundance Channel and Starbucks to Reprise Their Hits at the Sundance Film Festival, January 23-26.

PARK CITY, Utah--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Jan. 17, 2000

-John Popper, Third Eye Blind, Brian Vander Ark of Verve Pipe,

Grammy-Nominated Sixpence None the Richer, Matthew Sweet Among

the Performers-

BMG Entertainment returns to Sundance with the sequel to last year's SRO success, the Sundance Film Festival Music Studio (SFFMS) January 23-26, 2000. In 1999, SFFMS was the largest officially sanctioned musical event ever to take place at the Sundance Film Festival; this year's series promises to be bigger and better. Sponsored by American Airlines, Starbucks Coffee Company and the Sundance Channel, BMG will convert the Elks Lodge on Main Street into a state of the art recording and performance space, and host twenty musical performances over four consecutive nights--five artists each night.

This year's lineup includes recording artists from Arista, RCA, LaFace Records, Windham Hill, BMG Music Publishing among the labels. Artists performing include: John Popper of Blues Traveler, Third Eye Blind, Duncan Sheik, Matthew Sweet, Grammy-Nominated Sixpence None the Richer, Brian Vander Ark of Verve Pipe, Janis Ian, Ginny Owens, Mike Younger, Warren Brothers, Angie Aparo, Radford and David Mead. Special guests are scheduled to be announced in the days leading up to the festival. Each performer will take the stage for a 30-minute set.

For the first time, the series will culminate in a night dedicated to R&B and hip-hop performers on Wednesday, January 26th. Donell Jones will kick off the evening, which also includes sets by Malik Pendelton, Tommy Sims, Kevon Edmonds and a special guest.

"The Sundance Film Festival Music Studio is about building awareness for and developing the careers of our artists. The Sundance Institute shares in that vision," said Bill Wilson, Vice President, Worldwide Marketing, BMG Entertainment. "We are proud to partner with American Airlines, Starbucks and the Sundance Channel to create an intimate concert where the independent film community can hear music from established artists as well as a new generation of singer/songwriters."

The concerts will take place at the Elks Lodge, 550 Main Street, in Park City Utah. Performances are by invitation only and will take place nightly from January 23-26, from 5:30-8:30pm.

Some of the Artists Scheduled to Appear:

Angie Aparo makes his professional debut with his first studio album, The American on Arista Records. A singer, songwriter and guitarist, his songs reflect the human condition, touching on family, fatherhood, romance and heartbreak as common themes.

Brian Vander Ark is a singer/guitarist for the platinum-selling band, The Verve Pipe. Their latest effort, simply called The Verve Pipe is a follow up to their 1996 smash, Villains.

Kevon Edmonds gained notoriety with the 1997 hit, "I Care about You," from the Soul Food soundtrack. He's currently putting the finishing touches on his debut album, 24/7 from RCA Records.

Singer/Songwriter and Musician, Janis Ian burst onto the music scene at the early age of 15 with her saga of interracial love, Society's Child. This controversial song lead to the release of her debut album Janis Ian, garnering her first of nine Grammy nominations spanning the 60's, 70's, 80's and the 90's. To date Janis has won 3 grammy awards for her song At Seventeen and her work on In Harmony 2.

Singer, songwriter and producer Donell Jones scored No.1 on the R&B charts with his latest single, "U Know What's Up," featuring Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes of TLC. His sophomore album, Where I Wanna Be has just been released by LaFace Records.

David Mead is truly a classic pop artist. All types of different music, from Billy Joel to Dixie Gospel were childhood influences. His debut album, The Luxury of Time is available on RCA Records.

Ginny Owens began singing and playing piano about the same time she began talking, at the tender age of two. At birth, it was immediately apparent that she had inherited poor eyesight and by the age of two, she was totally blind. Without Condition is her debut album and "theme of her life". In Ginny's words, "If we allow ourselves to live immersed in the love and grace that we are so freely given, the opportunities God will give us are limitless, boundless and without condition."

Malik Pendelton's debut album, Look Around is the introduction of an extraordinary new voice, with soulful song stylings and romantic ballads that hearken back to the classic soul singers of the past, and hip-hop sensibility that anchors him firmly in the present. A fateful meeting with Mary J. Blige put Malik on the map. His Seven Days, - found on Blige's smash third album, Share My World soon became his very first hit (not to mention earning him a 1998 ASCAP Writer's Award). Look Around was written and produced mostly by Malik himself with contributions from Me'Shell Ndegeocello, James Mtume, Nicole Renee, Angie Stone, and Roots' drummer Ahmir Thompson.

Harmonica virtuoso John Popper of Blues Traveler is no stranger to the film industry. He has appeared in several films, including Blues Brothers 2000 and Kingpin. Popper recently released his debut album, Zygote, currently available on Interscope Records.

A familiar sound on the soundtrack circuit, Radford's music has already been featured in two major motion pictures, Never Been Kissed and Teaching Mrs. Tingle. Their self-titled debut album is set for release on RCA Records early this year.

Duncan Sheik has been hot since he hit the road with Jewel in 1996 for the release of his hit debut single, Barely Breathing. Soon after, his debut album, Duncan Sheik is released and is given a 4-star review by Rolling Stone, calling it a "defiant debut--beautiful and benevolent of spirit". Since then, Duncan has toured with Shawn Colvin, earned a Grammy nomination and watched his single Wishful Thinking help the Great Expectations soundtrack go gold. His latest album, Humming, contains "beautifully orchestrated meditations and suggests that pop can still aspire to a lofty, searching classicism" as reviewed by the NY Times.

Singer, writer and producer Tommy Sims has built his career doing music for movies. Two of his most memorable projects include "Streets of Philadelphia" from the film Philadelphia and "Change the World" from Phenomenon. Sims first solo album is due in the spring of 2000.

Sixpence None the Richer's self-titled album, includes the hit single, Kiss Me which along with the alblum was certified gold in 1999. The band performed at Lilith Fair in '98 and '99 and have recently toured with The Wallflowers, Brian Setzer, Smash Mouth, Barenaked Ladies, Shawn Mullins and Better Than Ezra. Their hit single Kiss Me was featured in the film, She's All That as well as on television's Dawson's Creek.

Singer Matthew Sweet is best known for his 1991 breakout smash Girlfriend. His latest album, a greatest hits compilation called In Reverse was released on Volcano Records in October of 1999.

Multi-platinum artists Third Eye Blind are best known for their chart-topping hits, "Semi-Charmed Life," "How's It Going to Be," "Losing a Whole Year" and "Jumper."

Country duo, The Warren Brothers have been playing to SRO audiences for the past five years, but they're relative newcomers to the country music scene. Their debut album, Beautiful Day in the Cold Cruel World is scheduled to be released on RCA Records later this year.

Mike younger is a compelling new talent whose striking lyrics span the scope of human emotions set against a blend of folk, blues and roots. His debut album, Somethin' In The Air, is fueled by his real life experiences as a traveler and street musician wandering the continent as a hitch-hiking hobo in an unwavering commitment to his music. His musical influences include Woody Guthrie, Cisco Houston, Mississippi John Hurt, John Prine, Leadbelly and many more.

Also taking place at Elks Lodge:

Sundance Channel and Starbucks will host "Dialogues," daily conversations at the Elks Lodge at 550 Main St. Friday, January 21 to Tuesday, January 25 from 10:00-11:30 am with Sundance Film Festival filmmakers ranging from those at the festival with their first film to acclaimed, experienced directors. Those scheduled to participate include Casey Affleck, Christian Bale, Matthew Broderick, Balthazar Getty, Heather Graham, Mary Harron, Ian Holm, Aidan Quinn, Stanley Tucci and Peter Weller. Dialogues will air on Sundance Channel's website www.sundancechannel.com and be taped live for future airings on DirecTV.

The Sundance Film Festival Music Cafe - hosted by the Starbucks Coffee Company and sponsored by ASCAP (The American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers), Liquid Audio and RCA - is located adjacent to the Sundance Music Studios at The Elks Building. The Music Cafe will be open for Starbucks coffee and as a meeting place from Friday, January 21 through Friday, January 28 from 9 am to 9 pm. The cafe will close at 4 pm on Saturday, January 29. Starbucks will donate all proceeds from coffee sales to the Sundance Composers Lab.

The Sundance Film Festival Music Cafe's national showcase of cutting edge emerging and indie talent moves into its second year at the Sundance Music Cafe following the standing room only success of its launch in 1999. ASCAP will present eight afternoons of live performances by sixteen powerful songwriters, many of whom have written and scored for film. Live performances will take place 1/21-1/28 from 3 to 5 pm and 1/22, 27, 28 from 3 to 7 pm. The full list of live music performers includes: Agents of Good Roots (RCA), Joseph Arthur (Real World/Virgin), Caleb (Universal), Alan Charing (Lazy Bones), Jesse Dayton, Fred Eaglesmith (Razor & Tie), Mike Errico (Hybrid), Josh Joplin (SMG), Jess Klein (Rykodisc), Tony Lucca (AFM), Mark Luna, John Oszajca (Interscope), Gretchen Peters, Sy Smith (Hollywood), Chris Smither (High Tone) and David Wilcox (Vanguard). In addition, Liquid Audio will be giving daily demos of The Hollywood Reporter COMPOSER REGISTRY, a joint venture between cafe sponsor Liquid Audio and The Hollywood Reporter.

Sundance Channel (www.sundancechannel.com), a premium television service under the creative direction and chairmanship of Robert Redford, brings television viewers the film festival experience by presenting a diverse selection of feature films, shorts, documentaries and international cinema, all uncut and commercial-free. Sundance Channel, launched in 1996, is a venture between Robert Redford, Showtime Networks Inc. and Universal Studios. Sundance Channel operates independently of the non-profit Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival but shares the Sundance mission of supporting independent artists and providing them with wider opportunities to present their work to audiences.

Established in 1914, ASCAP is the world's largest performing rights organization, with over 80,000 composer, lyricist and music publisher members. ASCAP is committed to protecting the rights of its members by licensing and collecting royalties for the public performance of their copyrighted works, and then distributing these fees to the Society's members based on performances. ASCAP's repertory spans the entire spectrum of music - from pop to symphonic, rock to gospel, Latin to country to jazz, rhythm and blues, theater, film and television music. ASCAP's Board of Directors is made up of solely writers and publishers, elected by the membership.

Starbucks Coffee Company is the leading retailer, roaster and brand of specialty coffee in the world. In addition to its retail locations in North America, the United Kingdom, the Pacific Rim and the Middle East, Starbucks sells coffee and tea products through its specialty operations, including its online store at starbucks.com Additionally, Starbucks produces and sells bottled Frappuccino(R) coffee drink and a line of innovative premium teas produced by its wholly-owned subsidiary, Tazo Tea Company.

BMG Entertainment (www.bmg.com) is the $4.6 billion worldwide music and entertainment division of Bertelsmann AG, one of the world's leading media companies, with annual revenues of $16.4 billion. BMG owns more than 200 record labels in more than 50 countries, including Arista Records, RCA Records and Ariola Music. BMG has significant online interests, including a 50 percent stake in GetMusic, a joint venture to promote artists and sell music over the Internet. BMG also owns the worlds' largest music club, one of the worlds' largest music publishing companies and has interest in television and compact disc and cassette manufacturing. Bertelsmann's North American interests also include the Random House Inc. book publishing group and the Gruner+Jahr magazine publishing group, which includes the McCall's, Family Circle and YM Magazines, among others.