Young bands to battle it out at Woolacombe’s first Battle of the Bands
Six North Devon bands, with members from Year 4 up to college age, will compete for a £500 prize in front of a panel of music industry judges
Young musicians from across North Devon will take to the stage at Woolacombe Village Hall next Saturday (November 21) for the village’s first Battle of the Bands.
Six bands will each play three songs to a live audience and a panel of four judges. The winners take home £500 and a recording session at Pound House Productions and there is £100 for the runners-up.
The event is the brainchild of local music teacher Joe Steer and Giles Long, chair of Woolacombe Village Hall, who hope it will become an annual fixture.
Joe said: “We have some incredibly talented young musicians in North Devon and they deserve opportunities to get up on stage, perform to a crowd and show people what they can do.
“We want to celebrate ambition, creativity and hard work and show young musicians that age doesn’t have to be a barrier to achieving something special.”
Giles added: “There’s something incredibly powerful about seeing other young people up on stage doing something exceptional. It can change what you believe is possible for yourself.”
Mark Aubrey of RecordMixMaster in Braunton is on the judging panel. He is a producer and engineer whose work credits includes Kylie Minogue, Bloc Party and Elastica.
He is joined by festival DJ Nick ‘Terrific’ Rutherford, who has played Glastonbury, Bestival and Reading.
Ruth Robinson, who spent 30 years as dressing room manager at Glastonbury’s Other Stage and was a talent scout for MTV, is also judging. So is Steve Tanton of Pound House Productions in West Down, a drummer who played on Tinie Tempah’s number one hit Pass Out.
The youngest band taking part is Explosion, four Year 4 pupils from Woolacombe School whose one rule is that every song has to be ‘an absolute banger’.
They are joined by Iceberg, Year 7 students from The Ilfracombe Academy and Braunton Academy, who first played at Woolacombe’s Got Talent in 2024.
Year 9 Ilfracombe Academy band Indecisive are also contending and count Jeff Buckley, The Beatles and Tool among their influences.
Meanwhile, ELF, made up of Emily, Lenka and Freya from Years 10 and 11 at Ilfracombe Academy, promise some special guests on the night.
Cliffhanger have battle experience - they reached the final of the Devon Music Education Hub’s inter-schools Battle of the Bands last year and played Exeter’s Phoenix.
Then there is The Anomaly, from North Devon College and The Ilfracombe Academy, who are regulars at the jam nights hosted by The Palladium in Bideford.
Thanks to local business sponsors, tickets are £2.50 for adults and under-18s go free.
Joe said: “We’re hugely grateful to the local businesses that have supported us so generously. Their backing has helped us keep the event affordable so that as many young people as possible can come along, be inspired and enjoy live music.”
Doors open at 6.30pm for a 7pm start.