Competition rages on at two Battle of the Bands weekend heats in King’s Lynn and Downham Market
Music-lovers will be in for a treat this weekend when not one, but two heats of West Norfolk’s Battle of the Bands competition take place.
Organisers from Twisted Melon Promotions have put a twist in the proceedings, with the third heat of the competition being dedicated entirely to acoustic acts and combined with the acts for heat two, audiences are in for a treat.
Triston Finnis said: “On Saturday, the competition heads to the Downham Market Club for a heat featuring acts from three counties and an array of genres. This heat certainly has something for everyone.
“Then the judges will hardly have time to draw breath before they head to Dr Thirsty’s in Lynn on Sunday afternoon for the first of this year’s solo/duo heats.”
He added: “This heat features no less than six acts with two progressing to this year’s six act solo/duo final.
“This heat features last year’s winner, CJ Hatt, as well as a young duo all the way from Brentwood, Essex, showing what a major competition the Twisted Melon/KLFM/Festival Too Battle Of The Bands is becoming.”
Kicking off at 7.30pm on Saturday, Cambridgeshire rock act Tantris will be the first act to play at Downham Market Club.
The band are returning after narrowly missing out on the semi-finals two years running and come after a huge transformation which leaves vocalist Tristan Hall as the only remaining member of the original line-up.
They will be followed by energetic indie/pop-rock four piece band, Uprising, who are travelling from Norwich.
They said: “Putting on a brilliant show is what we do!”
Playing in their hometown, acoustic trio Decades are a covers band who all share the same love of music and have been performing together for just over a year.
Constantly evolving their music, the band can be found playing venues from Cambridge to Hunstanton.
Eight piece hip hop/reggae/ska act, The Collective, are an act from Grantham who will be bringing their talents, and their tunes, to Downham for the night.
Head over to Dr Thirsty’s on Sunday to get your fill of acoustic talent from across the region from 3.30pm.
Starting off the performances is Neal Durose who has spent years performing in live music venues across the country and overseas. His broad repertoire will see him playing everything from Ed Sheeran to The Eagles, as well as a selection of original pieces.
Next up are Skye and Sophie, a 15-year-old singer/songwriting duo from Brentwood, Essex. Sophie is currently a finalist in Factor EsseX competition, but she has recently joined forces with fellow singer Skye to form this exciting young musical duo.
West Norfolk-based singer/songwriter Simon Smith was previously writing under the guise of Klangstrum and had great success being aired on BBC Introducing. Now after a break he’s back with a stripped back performance of just him and his guitar.
Bringing her distinctive tone over from Littleport, acoustic guitar-playing singer/songwriter Katie Macer has been performing for less than a year but is already becoming an accomplished performer.
Kerri Raspberry is a female vocalist with a soul sound and she loves to perform everything from the golden oldies right up to the chart hits.
Based in Norfolk but trained in London, the singer has been playing in venues of all sizes, from 10 to 2,000 people over the years.
Last year’s Twisted Melon Acoustic final winner, CJ Hatt, has a passion for pure acoustic music and this shows in his performance.
His different take on songs and ability make any song sound great acoustically makes him stand out as a unique and talented act.
Mr Finnis said: “You will see and hear why he stands out from the usual acoustic singers when you see him live! After making his Glastonbury debut last year, you’ll see he’s an act not to be missed!”
