The Battle of the Bands competition got underway yesterday at The Duke pub- there was impressive talent on display from both bands, and it was standing room only at the back of the marquee!
The first prize in the competition for local student bands is a studio demo/recording session, and yesterday landlord and event organiser Steve Blake also announced that the overall winner will get to open at Pub in the Park’s Saturday afternoon session this year!!
* UPDATE* Unfortunately one band for next week (Sun 13th) has had to drop out, so they are urgently seeking a band to take their place; and given the above prize package, there is everything to play for ! There is link to make contact here.
Idle Thoughts (Shiplake College) vs Blankfield (Borlase)
First up was Idle Thoughts, made up of students from Shiplake College – Luke is the lead singer/guitar, Fergus lead guitar, Otis on bass and Matt on drums. They played an energetic set of indie covers from the likes of The Strokes, The Kooks and Two Door Cinema Club and more.
The second band in Heat 1 was Blankfield, from Sir William Borlase’s School. The 5 piece played one of their own compositions in addition to a confident selection of indie/rock covers. The band had Lewis on vocals, Joe and Alex on guitar, Huw on bass and Khyan on drums -who put in a superb drum solo at one point!
And the winner of Heat 1 was….
Steve announced that the winner, as voted for by a combination of 3 official judges and an audience vote was…. Blankfield from Borlase!
They definitely exuded confidence, backed up by impressive musicianship, and played a set which went down very well with the audience.
We at MyMarlow had a great time listening to both bands, and look forward to the next stages of the competition:
- Heat 2 – Sunday 13th March
- Final – Sunday 20th March
Many thanks to Haley Rogers for photos as credited in the above
