Sellindge Festival are doing a "battle of the bands" type thing to pick local bands to play there, first heat is at the Frenchman on the 22nd of January. More details from the press release follows. Nothing rude about Zoo Thousand / Red List this time.
Hundreds of applications, loads of incredible bands; who knew there was this much talent in our corner of England? After a search for the best live performers in the Southeast, Sellindge Music Festival has announced the competitors of the Main Stage Talent Tournament: Heat 1, being held on Thursday, 22nd January in Folkestone. The decision was grueling, but in the end, five bands were chosen to compete for a once-in-a-lifetime spot on the Main Stage of Sellindge Music Festival 2009. Five more bands will battle it out during Heat 2 on 12th February, then four finalists (two from each Heat) will play their hearts out for the big prize on 14th March.
The bands for Heat 1 include D-FiNiTiVE: Their three year career has seen them support The Sugababes as well as earning a slot at the Fringe Festival at Radio 1's Big Weekend in Maidstone. Haunted Stereo: Playing over 15 instruments between them, Southampton's "Twee Nu-Folkers" (NME) Haunted Stereo have been featured on BBC 6 Music and supported folk-hero Johnny Flynn and hometown legends Thomas Tantrum. Taking Care of Business: Having gigged around Kent for several years, Canterbury heroes Taking Care of Business are determined to make their festival debut at Sellindge this summer. Burgundy: They have gained a local following at their hometown's own festival and are set to release their first EP this year. The Little Philistines: Final competitors The Little Philistines have been gigging in London for a year, have a new EP in production, and are featured among Artrocker's top 16 "most interesting, esoteric, exciting and fascinating tracks of the past 12 months"!
Kent's most exciting music event will be taking place on the 5th, 6th and 7th June 2009 in the beautiful countryside between Ashford and Folkestone. Festival-goers will see the Main Stage Talent Tournament winner perform alongside over 100 national & international artists and DJs. They'll also have a chance to browse the many trade-stalls, enjoy the rides in the fair-ground, take a helicopter tour, or check out the art exhibition put on by the Folkestone Artists Cooperative. Artists will be performing in multiple event areas, including the Main Stage, Acoustic Stage, Comedy Tent, and Dance Tent. BBC Kent Introducing will also be showcasing the county's most up and coming bands, alongside NorthSouthDivide, who are bringing the freshest talent from London and Manchester to Sellindge.
Heat 1 is being held Thursday, 22nd January at 7:30pm at The Frenchman, Folkestone (CT20 2SX). Heat 2 will also take place at The Frenchman, at 7:30pm on 12th February. The final four bands will compete at the much-anticipated Quarterhouse Entertainment & Events Venue (www.quarterhouse.co.uk) run by Folkestone's acclaimed Creative Foundation. For more information about the Main Stage Talent Tournament or Sellindge Music Festival, visit them on the web at www.sellindgemusicfestival.com or on Facebook at www.sellindgefacebook.com.
This is part of my website The 'Gerald that I built in a fury of excitement when I first moved here in approximately 2004. I'd been a frequent visitor for a few years previous to that but I am technically one of those Down From Londons you get now. The site was a lot more dynamic with a gig calendar and voting for favourite places and things, and I know it was a useful resource for those who were thinking of moving to the area. Now I've moved out of Folkestone again (though just to Hythe) it doesn't get as much attention as it used to. Ironic really as The town is now becoming the exciting place we knew it was about to become. My name is not Gerald by the way, this comes from a pretend paper in an episode of The Day Today or something, the Portsmouth Gerald, and how there is a local paper here called the Folkestone Herald. Puns like this are GRATE aren't they? Do contact me if you have something to contribute, email anythign @ this domain, or try @folkestone or @pauly on the twitter.