It was all about the music at the Bedford and Midlands Live and Unsigned Area Final

It was all about the music at the Midlands Live and Unsigned Area Final this weekend, as The Corn Exchange in Bedford welcomed the best of unsigned talent for the latest round of the Live and Unsigned Competition. The venue provided a great atmosphere for the live shows on the 7^th May, with unique grime and hip-hop headline act FDot1 taking to the stage. He has appeared on Ras Kwame's 1Xtra show, winning his Home Grown talent competition and been a regular on DJ 279's Friday Night Flava on Choice FM. 2010. Open Mic UK winner, for the under 18’s category, Hatty Keane also played at the showcase.

Judges presiding over the Midlands and Bedford Area Final included Nigel Clarke lead singer of Dodgy, Alex Baker from Kerrang! and DJ for the Kerrang Unsigned Show, vocal tutor Christine Evans, Carly Jackson Event Manager of OsFest, Dutch Van Spall from Big Help Management, Benjamin Price from High Peak Radio and Chris Grayston Head of A&R at Future Music.

The competition was fierce, and the standard was extremely high, well done to all the acts for putting on a great show! Congratulations to those that made it through to National Grand Final at Live Fest in London’s O2 on the 23^rd July.

Find below feedback for the day. Please be aware views expressed by Judges are opinions and subjective to that particular Judge panel. These views in no way reflect the views of Live and Unsigned, but are published with a view to being beneficial to the performing bands and singers who performed. So please take the feedback onboard with a view to helping.

Final 1

Ritchie and The Runners- Very now, very Mumford...made the cover very much their own sound but with such a popular sound at the moment without more distinction could get lost in the pack. Good opening to the show with good dynamics towards the end

Flygone- Really powerful vocals and nice energy between guitarists displayed with character. Not sure image is saying much

Tero- Original much better than cover. Could swagger a little more, as delivery is key with rap - could have done with being more defined and engaging. Not sure what getting the audience up at the start was about?

Girls that Scream- Idea is great, looking and sounding the part, however some of the execution wasn’t on point with tempo changes, backing vocals a little over shouty. More energy required from the front man and keys

Just Morale- Good performance and stage presence from the front man. He is great, the band really looked like they were enjoying themselves which added to the entertainment

Amy Wyke- Same feedback as last time good song very well delivered, watch mic control. Like the attitude go with it more with swagger

Arcade Parade- Great sound from the beginning and catchy guitar riffs that blended really well, bassist is unreal, really well rounded. Be careful not to over repeat to lose the effect. Cover wasn’t as strong

The James Lewis Band- Wicked cover, really fun band, guitarist is great with some great melodies making the cover their own - a really summery  vibe. Vocals just need to tighten a little. Not all judges convinced by the original song

Sarah Louise- Sarah has a lovely sweet tone and was creative with the cover, just take care when playing with the transition of chords with a couple of tuning issues. Going forward try to convey more emotion which can be done with better dynamics

Arcane Rage- All performing and tight, but could just work on performing collectively as at times looked a little uncoordinated. Good technical guitar riffs

Haunted Tranquillity- Just looked at what the cover choice was WOW I get it now. Performance; used the stage well and rock hair in line. Don’t over do the collective guitar line up

Alex LeuR- An unique talent, loved his original, beautiful combination of voice and guitar in a completely chilled vibe. Watch guitar playing lost its rhythm slightly at times

Undone- Good strong sound but not sure if it’s unique and image isn’t unified

PowerSurge- Good energy, use of stage and very together performance. Be careful not to become too shouty, it starts to become hard to hear what you are singing

Pandorica- Vocals could have blended better, would just stick with the female vocals, as she has a lovely rich voice

Pandemick- Worked the performance well, very cool cover, brilliant original, interesting dynamic with the drummer as lead - need to always consider how that works from an audience interaction point of view as tucked away at the back there

4Mula- Need more impact when come on stage and more glitz in the image. That said original is a potential hit, had a great flow with clever lyrics, with work on the former sentence will be a force to win the competition outright

Jack Parker- Needs more performance performed mostly with head titled to 2 o’clock so use the mic better to create variety in the performance

Blemish- Fun original, take care not to have your back to the audience too often. Good front man support vocals could be stronger. Transition to cover could have been smoother

Final 2

The Sin Kings- Girls work well together, really catchy song and the vocal lick yelp works well as a hook - be careful not to over use as became a little monotonous. Needed to get into it earlier and guitarists are a little lost on the wings with little engagement

Barnaby Newman- Stunning guitar work with some fine finger picking and strong vocal would have liked to have seen more expression and dynamics

Iona Thomas- Good use of harmonies, although perhaps a little laboured getting through the gears, which made the start weak. Fantastic voice and sounded awesome

Jack Kenworthy Trio- Vibe was great, very original, liked the break from the norm with the drum section breakdown. Comparisons will be made of Jamie Callum, but these guys have greater diversity

Nick Riley- Clever lyrics and theme but maybe repeat the hook to make it more memorable. Good link on theme and cover. Great ideas, good story teller just needs refining.

Acoustic Ash- Great blend of cover and original, nice voice wanted to see more expression and performance

Harry Jones- Good dynamics, excellent range and a powerful voice combined to give a great performance

Fall Back Theory- Front man was passionate and engaged the audience well, bass player needs to up the game as a little lack-lustre and overall sound could do with something a little extra

Dee’vyne- Stop shouting down the mic - it sounds awful, stick to the singing as have a good voice

Rusty G’s- Didn’t see the committed energy from the rest of the band as with the lead singer, rhythm section took a while to get going. Bring collective passion

Renee Hector- Good original song, which was performed much better than the cover. Through more experience learn your craft on stage, look at footage so give this more purpose

Missin Rosie- Super flute playing, which can work well, but does to dominate the overall sound of the band

Katie Collins- Guitar tuning was an issue on an over wise strong and confident performance. Watch the mic technique, we lose the vocals when you change chords. Very talented so look at Open Mic will do well the more you perform

Echoes of an Age- Performance was a little mechanical and needed more passion. Good vocals and vocal range although slight mistiming with vocals at the start

Fires and Fireplaces- Hugely entertaining! Catchy and engaging plus original. A collective image and all performed as one did everything on the tin!

Final 3

Three Bottles Behind- Started with impact but vocals faded with velocity on the intro. Second track lead change and drummer on vocals worked well and band had a full sound. Need to all perform together and engage the audience more. Vocal tuning issues at the end

Sophia- Original has potential but needs to be less repetitive. Guitar work was better and more interesting on the cover. Need to perform more. A bit of a nervous at the start although good vocals

Tash Bird-Much better performance from Tash, good original backed up with a good choice of cover. Lovely tone to the voice but needs some more work to reach its full potential. I enjoyed watching this artist

The Rassoodocks- Hated the cover! Lead guitarist ace, very good playing. A tight band with energy. Enjoyed the set but still lacking something for me

Paris Munro- Nice interpretation of the cover which flowed nicely into the original and back again. Not sure and difficult to judge the original on it’s on merits but very entertaining! Loved the emotional vocals

Very Nice Harry- drummer is very frantic as is the sound very rapid. Need to come together with the performance, interact and engage with each other. Got off to a good start but expected more. The bass overpowered the rest of the band so consider this in the future

Adam Barker- Bit awkward with the keyboard standing for half the performance should have been involved in all of it. Keys sounded nice on the original. Great voice just needs to believe more and give more conviction.  Had a very emotional voice

Romantic Idols- Love the original, needs more energy from the drummer and bass player. Vocals were weak on the cover, which was a good choice but needed better execution. Really evident what is possible when they go back to the original which they performed much better. Good sound for a 3 piece

Pink Traffic Band- Well can’t say they didn’t go for it! Front lady driving the performance. Very odd image needs to be worked through to give a collective image; army combats with pink berets with the lads, see cracked it! Lively, fun and entertaining

Purple Valley Rocks- Need to create more chemistry and engagement with the audience. Good band and good for a 3 piece but need to be more distinctive to really stand out in the competition

Katie Dove-Dixon- Great song with some really smart lyrics connected with the music and the audience.  Loved the vocals, full of emotion and passion. Katie made the cover her own, good work

Flip Like Wilson- Another female drummer cool! One of the best of the day. Needed more vocal support from other members and harmonies. At times together brilliantly and others a little untidy. Could have made the cover more personal

Non Nah Wiser- Lacked dynamics needed to bring it up, slow it down and a breakdown perhaps female vocalist would have really given it depth. Good rapping and played to the crowds but like many acts today it needed something else to stand out

Aggyfro- Cover was a brave choice but female vocalist held it together just loose the “ho heys”...been done before. Performed collectively very well and musically bordering on overcrowding both at times but carrying it off with flying colours

Beth White- Original was so deep and emotional which felt lost when it went to the cover. The track is a handful never heard anyone nail it yet, although performed it better than Katy Perry. Need more development to compete at this level

Rainboy- Very well thought and executed performance making a great show. Strengthen the vocals and this could be dynamite. Theatrical and entertaining but not sure a Michael Jackson tribute falls under the title of original

Colt- Great improvement from the regional final image and routine, 200% better! Dancers on the money. Good image and audience engagement. The whole thing became a bit too repetitive so need to make it distinctive

The Trinity Band- These guys set the bench mark for the competition, can anyone bench more?  Loved the image and enthusiasm from the band. The cover was great and the original was even better!

For those acts who didn’t progress through to the Grand Finals, don’t forget to use your Wildcard! All acts have been given a Wildcard in the form of a national public vote. There is just one place up for grabs and just two weeks to make your mark, so keep an eye out on the website and get voting for that last National Grand Final spots!

For information on the Grand Final and to purchase tickets visit the Live and Unsigned Live fest page. Or further details of guest acts playing the London’s biggest indoor festival “Live Fest” incorporating the National Grand Final visit www.LiveFest.co.uk