This year we received over 90 entries to our Kickstart competition which is quite frankly astounding. What made it even more special was that a lot of the bands or musicians were new to us and the quality was extremely high. As you can imagine it was extremely difficult for our team to narrow the list down to a shortlist of just twenty.
Shortlist►
Without further ado, we are pleased to announce that the following musicians/bands have made it through to the next stage:-
►All Of Your Ruins
►Bisous
►Black Mono
►Brand New Friend
►Cora Kelly
►Duellists
►Dandelion Tea
►Ink Spelt Death
►Joe Rocks
►Karis Fitch
►Monkey Bath
►MOSA
►Roscoe’s Riot
►Saturn Sundown
►Shadow Police
►Shoot The Messenger
►The Crossfire Hurricanes
►The Steve Experiment
►Triona
►We Turned, We Drew
*Little Arcadia were originally in the top twenty but are now unable to play the showcase gig on 10th March. They have been replaced by Monkey Bath.
Shortlist Judging Panel►
A massive congratulations to those who have made it through to the next stage. Rather than using a public vote like in previous years, the four finalists will be decided by an independent panel of judges.
– Lauren Bird – 2015 Kickstart Winner
– Charlotte Dryden – Oh Yeah Music Centre
– Mark Dunn – Gigging NI
– Stevie Lennox – The Thin Air
– Christopher McBride – The Metaphorical Boat
– Jonathon Traynor – Belfast Metalheads Reunited
– Sean O’Neill – Redbeard PR
– Matt Bishop – NI Music
– Paul Brown – MPC Music Group
– Lucy Skerritt – Generator NI
– Aaron Drain – State.ie
– Nikki MacRae – Hidden Machine
Timeline For The Competition ►
– Monday 22nd February 2016 – 4 Finalists Announced
– Thursday 10th March 2016 – Showcase Gig & Winner Announced
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who sponsored the competition this year. We highly recommend these organisations should you require their services:
► Professional Career Advice – Courtesy of Third Bar Artist Development
► Single Recording – Courtesy of Millbank Studios
► Video for your Single – Courtesy of Dog Kennel Productions
► Festival Slot – Courtesy of Stendhal Festival of Art
► First Play of your Single – Courtesy of Electric Mainline
► CD Duplication – Courtesy of Botanic Media
► Single Artwork – Courtesy of This Is Work
► Professional Photoshoot – Courtesy of Ciara McMullan Photography
► Support Slot in Portrush – Courtesy of Atlantic Live Lounge
► Single Stocked in Shop & In-store performance – Courtesy of Head Belfast
► Support Slot in Derry/Londonderry – Courtesy of Bennigans Introducing
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