Are you the next big Scottish band?
Prove it and win the chance to open the Belladrum festival this August
We’ve seen a lot of bands progress from the ‘unsigned’ stage to playing the main stages at Belladrum. We’re often described as the Glastonbury of Scotland and we get crowds from all over the world, so the exposure is a wonderful opportunity for young acts
IS your band the next Primal Scream? Franz Ferdinand? Young Fathers? Chvrches? Rather like the Devil, do you have all the best tunes? Are you so good that it’s not just your mum who’s your number-one fan? Are you designed, refined but as yet unsigned?
If you are a brilliantly original young Scottish band shouting “Yes, yes, yes, yes!” to all these questions then pay attention kids, for opportunity knocks.
This August, at the Tartan Heart Belladrum Festival in Beauly, you can win the chance to show the world what you’re made of as you open this year’s festival with a life-changing set. Today we begin the search for the lucky act that will appear on the special Seedlings emerging talent stage. All you have to do is prove with that you’re the band for the job.
The competition invites bands and singers of all stripes to upload their best tracks to SoundCloud, with the winner selected by a panel from Belladrum and media partner the Sunday Herald over the coming weeks. The chosen band will secure a highly prized 30-minute set, opening for the 14th annual festival held on the beautiful Belladrum Estate in Inverness-shire on August 3-5.
Previous bands featured on the unsigned stage include Glasgow alternative rockers Twin Atlantic, who have since released four critically acclaimed albums. Five years after their debut on the Seedling stage, the band appeared as Belladrum’s headline act in 2013.
Organisers claim the once-in-alifetime opportunity could be the first step to success.
Festival director Joe Gibbs said: “We’ve seen a lot of bands progress from the unsigned stage to playing the main stages. We get crowds from all over the world, so the exposure is a wonderful opportunity. We’re often described as the Glastonbury of Scotland because we are an all-ages festival with a range of music and art.”
Gibbs claimed that new talent also formed the beating heart of the festival. “We’ve always had an emerging talent stage, and it’s been a large part of the event,” he added. “The reason for the stage is to bring the acts to an audience, with a larger level of exposure than you might expect as an unsigned artist. Hopefully these audiences will stick with them throughout the rest of their career.”
Inverness Indie folk-pop band Dorec-a-Belle won the competition in 2013. Singer and guitarist Maryann Frew said: “Playing at such an established festival gave us a huge sense of confidence that we were doing something really worthwhile. We would highly rec- ommend the competition as it was a great advertisement for us.”
As a result, the band was invited to open the Wickerman Festival and showcase at the XpoNorth industry event the same year, as well as playing the Edinburgh Fringe. Band members also credit their success with helping them secure funding from Creative Scotland to record an album.
This year Belladrum, which was founded in 2004, will welcome Scottish rockers Franz Ferdinand, The Pretenders and disco legends Sister Sledge to the lush Highland countryside. Other acts performing include KT Tunstall and Feeder while the brand new Temple of Dub Arena will be bringing the woods to life with a constant flow of reggae, roots, dub and jungle tunes.
Largs-born Benny Gallagher, of legendary folk-rock duo Gallagher & Lyle, said: “Belladrum provides younger, unsigned bands with an invaluable platform to hone their stagecraft, and develop their skills as performers while reaching a far wider audience.” He added: “It’s a great way to get your foot in the industry door.”