Featuring a beautiful beachside locale, tons of reggae, a number of jam bands and copious amounts of ganja, the West Beach Music & Arts Festival pretty much embodies the Santa Barbara image, love it or hate it. If that’s not your scene, however, there’s another local festival looking to cater to your musical needs. The ambitious first-annual New Noise Santa Barbara runs Oct. 8 through Oct. 10, and features a number of panels with industry insiders as well as a diverse roster of artists performing all over downtown Santa Barbara’s numerous venues.

More similar to South by Southwest Music and Media Conference and Festival than West Beach, expect this little conference to grow in coming years, bridging the gap between the state’s two big music hubs, L.A. and San Francisco. Conference attendees can attend panels at the Canary Hotel on music and digital media, which will feature topics like “Death or Glory: The Demise of the (Major) Label?” and “License to Ill: Placing Your Music in Film and Television” and speakers from record labels and other major media entities.

Among bands slated to play New Noise is fusion act Michael Franti and Spearhead, who will be playing at the Arlington Theatre, as well as provocateur Har Mar Superstar (at Sandbar), The Mad Caddies (at Velvet Jones), local act Franklin for Short, MURS of the Living Legends (who will join Michael Franti onstage at the Arlington), pop-punk band No Use for a Name (at Velvet Jones) and the folksy, ’60s-style rock of Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes (at SOhO).

Of course, this is Santa Barbara, so Jack Johnson will be featured as a part of the proceedings, if only via celluloid. The festival will premiere Johnson’s new film, “Jack Johnson: En Concert,” on Oct. 10 at the Arlington.

For UCSB students interested in checking out some of the inaugural conference’s weekend offerings, New Noise has a special deal: A badge can be purchased for only $70, which grants access to conference sessions and priority access to showcases at sponsored clubs, among other things. Another option is the $40 three-day wristband, which will guarantee no cover fees for its wearer.

To purchase tickets or find out more about the New Noise Santa Barbara conference, visit www.newnoisesb.com.

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