Taylor-made acts reach acoustic final

The acoustic portion of the Battle of the Bands got off the mark on Sunday, as six acts battled for three spots in the next round, writes Jon Seymour.

Eve-Lauren Doughty was given the task of kicking off the proceedings at Lynn’s Wildfowler pub in Gayton Road, and she met the challenge head on.

Some of her cover versions were surprising, especially as she’d re-arranged a number of them to suit her style.

Following on were Two Cats, a duo on guitar and bass.

We were taken back in time by a lot of their song choices, but there were lots of people joining in and singing along.

Once again there were a few surprises, making for an interesting set.

Last-minute entry Rich Taylor was next in line, and he wowed the audience with his guitar technique and soulful voice.

Again, there were some surprising covers in his set, but all were performed faultlessly.

The first original songs of the afternoon came in Beth Lancaster’s set, interspersed with a few cover versions.

Her song-writing skills are exceptional, and she performs with a maturity that’s well beyond her years.

James Blyth was the penultimate act of the day, and his set consisted of all original tracks from his forthcoming EP.

It was obvious that he’s a seasoned performer, playing with confidence, and a certain amount of swagger. Keep an eye out for the EP, it’ll be well worth a listen.

Closing out the day were Barstool Angels, an acoustic covers duo.

If there was a right way to end things on, then this was it.

Their set was chock full of crowd pleasers, which had the whole place singing along with them.

With only three going forward, it fell to the judges to decide who would be filling those spots.

Eventually though, it was Eve-Lauren Doughty, Rich Taylor and Beth Lancaster who went through to the next stage.