Battle of the Bands

Battle of the Bands Final Seven

The talent which poured into Country Calling’s first Battle of the Bands competition was overwhelmingly good and it was only after some agonising that our judges managed to whittle it down to seven finalists. read more

Battle of the Bands

Entries are pouring into our Battle of the Bands competition and giving proof to what we long suspected – the West Country is full of unsigned musical talent.

The finals night at Sparkford Hall in Somerset on May 15 is shaping up nicely too.

Thanks to the generosity of Potent Productions, Sparkford Hall, Over the Moon Tents and Ace Acoustics we have an incredible venue to showcase our six finalists – and according to our judges it’s going to be tough to whittle down this year’s entrants to a final six.

Just to recap Battle of the Bands is offering the winner the chance to play at three leading West Country festivals – Larmer Tree in Wiltshire, Eden Sessions in Cornwall and Beautiful Days in Devon.

We’ve pulled together a great line up of judges – Mark Cotton of Big Lottery, James Shepard of Larmer Tree Festival, John Empson of Eden Sessions, Mathew Priest of Dodgy and Sarah Mead of Yeo Valley.

You can enter by sending a link into bands@countrycalling.co.uk or by doing it the old fashioned way and posting a demo to Country Calling, Lyemarsh Farmhouse, Wet Lane, Mere Wilts BA12 6BA. The closing date for entries in 1 May and the finalists will be announced on the site by 2 May.

In the meantime we’ll be regularly posting our favourite new entries on our facebook page so keep checking in to check out the competition.

First up here’s Saturday Sun from Devon with a beautiful, mesmerising track that will stay in your head  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h6hW5ogSy8

We love this video from The Widowmaker near Winchester and can’t help asking how did he pull it off? Feels like there’s a few 100 extras in there http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJz1AsHZLmA

Blue Rivcr from Camborne in Cornwall are up next http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmKMx4WUcNc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

And finally Bristol’s Gaz Brookfield with his rousing ballad  that could be a theme tune for our site  ‘West Country’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIPSO2qsS3s

Hope you’re feeling inspired. There’s still two weeks before the closing date – go on give it a shot. You could end up performing to some of the biggest crowds of the summer….

In a Band? Then Country Calling Needs You!

Think you’re the next Jimi Hendrix? Got aspirations to take on Mumford&Sons? Then listen up because Country Calling is launching Battle of the Bands, a competition to unearth the best musical talent in the South West. And the prize –the chance to perform at three leading West Country festivals – could launch your musical career. read more