Splendour, the hugely popular music festival held at Wollaton Park, is to spur on local, unsigned musicians with an opportunity to open the event in front of a crowd of up to 20,000 people.
The Future Sound of Nottingham, organised through the community project NUSIC, will give one lucky act the chance to perform the opening slot of the main stage, when the festival returns on Saturday July 19th. The first round of the contest, which launched yesterday, Monday 14th April, invites local bands and artists to send in demos to be considered by an expert panel.
Entries for the first round will close on May 5 and finalists will be expected to battle it out in a showdown on the main stage at Rock City on Sunday, June 22nd, where the public and an independent panel of judges will decide the winner.
Run by DHP Family, Splendour saw a strong showing from Nottingham artists last year, including Indiana, who played her first ever public gig after entering the FSN competition in 2012. Now managed by DHP, the singer-songwriter has gone from strength to strength. On track to release her first album, she’s also been playlisted on Radio One and performed to a sell-out home crowd on Saturday April 12th at Rescue Rooms.
Mark Del, of NUSIC, says: “It’s always exciting to give an unknown musician the chance to play the main stage at Splendour. The competition is about discovering the act no-one has heard of before and every year someone brilliant comes out of nowhere. We’ve had so many success stories, when Indiana came through two years ago, no-one had ever seen her play in public and look at her now! I can’t wait to find out who it will be this year.”
Splendour recently announced headliners as no.1 artist Tom Odell and Manchester legends The Happy Mondays, who will be joined by Reverend and the Makers and the Boomtown Rats. Promoter DHP Family is promising a line up of more than 30 top acts playing across three stages with other artists to be announced in the next few weeks. The festival’s fringe entertainment will also include a comedy stage, a children’s fun fair, and dozens of market stalls.
DHP Family’s George Akins added: “As well as national and international acts, Splendour celebrates the real strength and depth of the Nottingham music scene. Last year’s event, led by the phenomenal success of Jake Bugg, really proved what the city has to offer but this year’s event also promises to showcase some really exciting home grown acts. The Future Sound of Nottingham plays a huge role in supporting new artists and it provides a fantastic opportunity to play in front of thousands of people.”
NUSIC is dedicated to all things ‘Notts, Musical and New’ and aims to support unsigned musicians from the county. Last year’s competition winners The Gorgeous Chans have also gone on to headline gigs, with a sell out show at Bodega already under their belts.
Tickets for Splendour are on sale now and start at just £15.
For more information on FSN, visit www.nusic.org.uk/fsn
