Acoustic nights and open mic nights
A listing of regular acoustic nights and open mic nights is given on our page for acoustics and jazz in Leicester
New Acoustics Competition - June 2008
A new competition for solo artists and singers including singing groups and small acoustics bands starts on Wednesday 25th June at the Pavilion Venue, Leicester
Entrance to the shows is free of charge. All shows start at 8 p.m., doors open at 7 p..m. Artists should arrive by 7.45 p.m. See our Pavilion page for directions to the venue
We have started a new page, listing singers, soloists and acoustic artists in Leicester/shire.
Sponsors
The competition is sponsored by Connexions Leicester, Leicester Vocal Tech, The Convolution Rooms, Sheehans Music Services, Silver Bullet Promotions, the Pavilion Venue and Arts in Leicestershire, among others.
Prizes
Finalists will share a cash prize of £500: The overall winner will receive a cash prize of £200 plus the competition Trophy. The second place will receive a cash prize of £100; third place £50. The runners up will also receive cash prizes. There will also be special category prizes donated by our sponsors (see below).
First Round Heats
Wednesday 25th June
The winnners of the first round heat (by audience voting) were
1. Steve
Faulkner
Steve Faulkner put on a storming performance; his versions of Elenor Rigby by the Beatles and Billy Jean by Michael Jackson were outstanding in their originality and interpretation. Powerful vocals, accompanied by very skillful guitar work, made him a clear hit with the audience.
2. Lisa d'Ville
Lisa sang and accompanied herself on guitar with additional instrumentals by Jack on the electric Cello, she delivered haunting and evocative songs in a crystal clear voice. Beautiful singing and masterful evocation of mood, her set was laden with artistry.
3. Chris Swirls
Chris delivered a set of indie songs with gusto and vitality, good articulation and voice projection. He showed that he enjoyed what he was doing and this engaged the audience.
Thanks to the other contestants: Bryn Jones and Paul Carden and to the special guest appearance made by Bob Dilling, singer/songwriter, folk, country and pop.
Not in order of play:
Wednesday 2nd July
The winners of the second heat were
Paula Driver
Paula's songs were tuneful and delivered with well rounded and clear vocals. A pleasure to listen to, she engaged her audience and captured their attention and affection well. A solid performance from a skilled artist.
Dan White
Dean Sharman
all of whom will go through to one of the semi-final events and
Jason Westall (The Utopians) goes through to the playoff event.
Jason Westall's set of indie songs, some of which he had written himself and a couple fo covers added for good measure, were lively and stylish. Catchy riffs and edgy lyrics gave a good impression. An engaging set that clearly struck a chord with the audience.
Our thanks to the other contestants: Nick Thornton from the Eaves
Wednesday 9th July
1. Chris Armson (Jack of Hearts Band)
3. Dan McColgan
4.Chloe Vaughan
5. Duke Lynton (Acoustic Set)
Three acts will go forward to the semi finals:
Duke Lynton
Dan McColgan
Chris Armson
and Chloe Vaughan as the Judges choice.
Wednesday 16th July
1. Chris Bell-Young
2. James Spoon
3. The Locks
4.The Truth (Acoustic set)
5. Nathan Lord (Razmataz)
6. Barricades Rise
These acts will go forward to the semi-finals:
James Spoon
The Truth (Acoustic set)
Barricades Rise
Chris Bell Young
Nathan Lord (Razmataz)
The Locks
Semi-finals
Wednesday 23rd July
Artists who performed in order of play
Paula Driver
Dan McColgan
James Spoon
Steve
Faulkner
Bryn Jones
The Truth (Acoustic set)
Barricades Rise
Dan White
The results of the audience vote
1. The Truth
2. Bryn Jones
3. Paula driver
4. Dan White
5. Barricades Rise
6. Steve Faulkner
7. James Spoon
8. Dan McColgan
based on first and second choices on voting slips handed in
Winners 1 to 6 will go through to the Finals
The judges also decided that James Spoon would go through to the young artists section of the finals.
Wednesday 30th July
Not in order of play
Dean Sharman - D.JsBlues Bar
Chris Swirls
Chris Bell Young
Nathan Lord (Razmataz)
The Locks
Chris Armson
Lisa de'Ville
Boll Weavils (Acoustic set)
Chloe Vaughan
Wednesday 6th August
The playoffs round has been cancelled as the venue is no longer available on that night.
These dates are repeated on our events page
GRAND FINAL
SATURDAY 16th August (ten finalists from the semi-finals)
Venue
The venue for all events will be The Pavilion Venue on Victoria Park.
Voting
For the first round heats and the semi-finals, members of the audience will be able to vote in person on the night. Each member of the audience will be given a voting slip and will be allowed to vote for two acts. Each vote will carry the same weight.
A panel of judges will also vote for each act and each judge will be able to award 10 votes to any act. The voting slips will be collected after all acts have completed their sets. The results will be announced once the votes have been counted.
Selection for the semi-final heats will be on a night-by-night basis. The judges may also play wild cards and invite an artist to the 6th August playoff heat whether or not they got through a first round heat. This might help younger artists who sometimes suffer from nerves but who show exceptional promise.
Judging at the Grand Final will be by qualified judges only but the voting from previous rounds might be taken into consideration if there is a very close tie between acts.
All winners will be published on this web page.
Prize Categories
There will be a special category prize for "Best Young Act (16 - 18)", donated by Leicester Connexions.
A secial category prize, "Best New Act", will be awarded to the most promising new artist, donated by Leicester Vocal Tech, and is a course of vocal coaching provided by Leicester's Academy of Voice Training and Stage Performance - Vocal Tech
"Best Combo Act", is a prize for acts with more than one artist, and is a recording session is also offered as special category prize, by The Convolution Rooms of Leicester. They have worked with Kasabian, Oasis, The Enemy, Jersey Budd, The Arctic Monkeys and many more top acts.
Sheehans Music Services have offered six sets of acoustic strings as a special category prize: "Best Instrumentals".
Arts in Leicestershire will also be offering, as a prize, an online promotional page on our web site and a publicity package, for the class "Best Stage Performance".
Sponsors
Sponsors of the competition include Connexions, Leicester Vocal Tech, The Convolution Rooms, Arts in Leicestershire and Silver Bullet Promotions.
All shows are listed in our rock gigs listing or our listing of music events
See this page for a general listing of all Leicester's acoustic events
The Shed Acoustics Competition, 2008
Photography
Our thanks to Trevor Sewell for photographing the contestants - photos are available from Trevor's Flikrsite. Please credit "Sewell Photography" if using them.
Page updated on:
Thursday, July 24, 2008 5:02 PM
See Travel
to Leicester for details
of how to get to Leicester and where to stay when
you get there.
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