I recently had the pleasure of having breakfast in Anchorage at the Snow City Cafe with the ultra-talented singer/songwriter Marian Call. Marian is a self-professed geek girl on top of being a powerhouse singer based in Alaska. She is about to embark on a unique and incredibly smart DIY musical tour of the Lower 48 called 49 > 50 as in “coming from the 49th state to the rest of them.” Oh yeah, she will end up in Hawaii at the end of the tour to get some much-needed rest.

I’d love to get her to Tok on her way back to Alaska although that won’t be until sometime at the end of year. Would love to get her here before she leaves the state but that is only weeks away, and as we know in Tok – and in everything else in life – timing is everything.

So in the meanwhile I’m just shouting from the social networks my support for what Marian is doing. She is crowdsourcing her music tour.

What is crowdsourcing, you ask? In a nutshell, crowdsourcing is going to the “crowd” or the public using social media to glean information or get ideas or get feedback. Sourcing the crowd for their thoughts and opinions. Social media is the perfect set of tools to do this with and it is smart for any company or individual to tap into the crowdsourcing power of our Social Web.

So what this means for Marian is pretty exciting. GET INFO HERE ABOUT HOW TO BOOK HER IN YOUR TOWN.

Here is how Marian defines the types of shows she will do:

There are two kinds of shows: House Concerts and Venue Concerts.  House concerts I set up directly with you (even if they’re not at a house, or not at your house).  For venue concerts, such as cafés, bars, farmer’s markets, and music halls, I collect information about a venue that you think is really a perfect fit and has dates open, and I contact them myself (unless the manager happens to be your brother-in-law or something, in which case you introduce us).

You can book a performance date for either type of show directly with her (instructions here). And you can see how her tour is shaping up on her site.

Her last show is in Anchorage on 10 April! If you are lucky enough to be in Anchorage or in nearby parts, you must go see her before she spends the rest of the year bringing her fantastic music to the rest of the country. You can buy tix on her web site!

I can’t begin to tell you how important it is what Marian is doing. Besides the fact that she is a smart, savvy, talented woman coming out of Alaska who can represent the State of Alaska in a positive, empowering way, she is also tapping into the power of crowdsourcing and empowering her fans with the ability to bring her to their towns – and their homes. So suddenly fans of music are not at the mercy of a venue or a music booker or booking agency. If you want to see her and hear in person, you just reach out and try to make it work.

My own company Conversify is working with several companies that are crowdsourcing on products including wine and perfume. This is the future. I’m so thrilled to see it happening.

Follow Marian on Twitter or on her Facebook Page.

Power to the People!