Back in April, Martin House Children’s Hospice held
their third, annual Centre Stage Heats at The Wardrobe, Leeds. Over a
thousand people came down to support over thirty local, young bands and
artists who battled it out to earn themselves a place at July’s Final, where they
will compete for a place on the bill at both the Leeds and Reading Festivals
this summer.
The Final is now looming and very eagerly anticipated,
and is set to take place on 17th July 2012
at O2 Academy, Leeds. The event will see a diverse range of acts, from as young
as twelve years old, and will be judged by a very high profile panel,
including Neil Pengelly (Booker for Leeds and Reading), Mike Heaton (Embrace),
Jeremy Lascelles (Former Virgin A&R Manager/ CEO Chrysalis Music), Ross
Jarman (The Cribs) and Matt Bowman (Pigeon Detectives).
The evening will be hosted by BBC Introducing’s Alan
Raw, who will also be introducing the winners when they take to the stage at
the Leeds Festival.
The lucky finalists are: The Scandal,
Distorted Sky, PaperPlane, Traffic Wire, Indecisive Crisis, The Artists,
Seas-of-Green, Inlaze, Distorted Sky, Another Life, British Daylight, Euthemia and
Glassbody. All fine
examples of young people utterly dedicated to performing music that they are so
passionate about. The Mexanines, winners of Centre Stage 2011 will also be
performing as special guests.
In order to enter, artists must be under 21 years old,
with at least one band member at school or college in West Yorkshire. To put
themselves forward for this fantastic opportunity, artists/bands committed
to undertake their own fundraising ventures and raise vital funds for the
hospice: to care for children and young adults, with life limiting illnesses.
The perfect example of young people helping young people.
Since securing their place as finalists, the bands
have been taking this opportunity very seriously – upping their rehearsal
times, writing new material and getting lots of gigging practice. Not to
mention continuing to fundraise and help raise the profile of the competition.
As preparation for the final, Martin House has organised professional mentor
sessions, to answer any last questions and to deliver some constructive advice
for their big performance.
Last year’s final saw over 1200 music fans support the
bands and Martin House and this year looks set to attract an even bigger crowd!
Tickets available now on O2 Academy, Leeds, website, only £6/£4 concessions.
People are also welcome to pay on the door. Doors open and 6pm and the event
will start at 6.50pm.
Fantastic prizes also awarded to ‘the best
fundraisers’, ‘the runners up’ and ‘the act to bring the most support’.
Soundworks Studios and Choque Hosein have generously donated two of these!
Decksaver and Blacks Solicitors are both sponsoring the event.
Festival Republic continue their
dedicated support and once again are welcoming the winners to perform at both Leeds
and Reading 2012. The lucky winners will also receive £1000 worth of
musical equipment from John Hornby Skewes and Co. Ltd, a performance music
video by Shot by Sodium and also a graphic design consultation, with West
Yorkshire company Define Creative, to work on their branding.
No comments:
Post a Comment