It was all about the music at the London and East Live and Unsigned Area Final- Feedback

It was all about the music at the London and East Area final as unsigned acts and bands took to the stage in Basildon, as The Towngate Theatre 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 15th May, with guest act urban and rap group Flow Dem, who put on a great show. Previous Live and Unsigned grand finalists and indie, rock act The Novatones also played at the showcase.

Judges presiding over the London & East Area Final included: Sam Holt First Days of Freedom Festival Organiser, Tino Leonard who worked for Virgin and is a former Miss Brighton, Michael King Head of BGM Music, Darren Ashford drummer for Dub Pistols and Black Eyed Peas, Chris Grayston Head of A&R at Future Music and Paul Handley from Record and Music Management company Out of Bounds Music.

Sam Holt the organiserof First Days of Freedom Festival, judged the Area Finals in Basildon was so impressed with the talent that he has chosen Gentlemen Duke and The Merry Gang to play at the festival. First Days of Freedom takes place on the weekend of 15th – 17th July and we wish the selected acts the best of luck.

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 23rd 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

Frost-D- Maybe an investment into and using a loop pedal to build it up? Got all the sounds and the talent is obvious like a human Beardy Man! but is there a single in the performance given?

The Great Gatsby- Vocally well supported and the cover cut through strongly to give a great ending. Good dynamics after a shaky start

Freya Roy- nice musicianship, but as quite often happens, takes a long while to progress with the build up of the track on the loop pedal, need to get the elements up running quickly and make it as engaging as possible

The Hazeltones- Didn’t like the start but once in their stride no doubt a polished act, felt the performance in Brighton was much stronger. These guys are super talented and drummer is a fantastic singer as well won’t be long before we see them again!

Gabriella Bishop- Make us believe! The vocal and look is there, but could be better if developed with a more solid performance and audience connection. Quite a static performance

Dirty Addiction- Good use of stage, but sometimes looked a little unrehearsed between members of the band, perhaps could have calmed it down in places. Harmonies could do with some work, which if remedied will make them that little more polished

Louisa Orfila- Quite similar to an old Madonna song, which can’t be too bad. Better use of stage this time, Just need to tidy up on the pitch on the vocals

Gentleman Duke- Very distinct sound backed up by a charismatic fiddle player. Very engaging would have liked to seen more of the original but a super band going places!

Lorena Cueva- Better use of dynamics would make more impact, as voice and playing was great. Only at the end did we see a change up, but could have embraced this throughout to give it more life and passion

Half Crown- Funky and they all perform! Could be better coordinated for more performance impact. Couldn’t fault musicianship, which was excellent

Freddie Light- Great talent with a lovely voice which carried him through at Brighton, but he needs to think image and add dimension to the performance to move it up a level

Kaleidofly- Guitarists not really performing, which let them down from some fantastic guitar playing. Drums need more power. Good front lady which they need to galvanise a collective performance. Looking back at footage or taping themselves rehearse will improve this

Lucy Sampson- Didn’t sound perfectly in tune throughout, performance needed more engagement which, with a little more passion, could have drawn the audience into the performance

Lazer Horse- Good original song with great texture from a tight band. If they could sort out the image it would help them immensely, which was a point also made at the regional final by the Judges

Cameron Sanderson- Nice guitar skills and good change up on the cover, work on audience engagement

Mackley Drive- Nice full sound from the band with some exceptional playing. Think image now!

Luke Burr- Has an exceptional voice both rich and textured. Keyboard playing is strong! The ‘Andy Capp’ hat may have to go LOL.

Myernark- Loved the front man had good rhythm and character, not sure anyone else in the band was on the same vibe, and it needed it to spark off the chemistry throughout the band. At times it seemed that band and the singer were not together

INtuition- It didn’t feel like much performance had been coordinated and worked on between the band which was a shame. Practice not just the music, but the movement and collective performance

Edged- Great energy and performance from the front man! Work on the rest of the band matching this

Final 2

Modupe- Drummer had a few juggles - maybe not worth the risk, drum grove didn’t necessarily reflect the music, great vocal but it was a shaky start which they recovered well. Vocals on keys were at times flat and more control is needed

Infuriate- Used the stage and long hair well! Reflecting a strong chemistry and collective collaboration between them. Interesting choice of cover, which they made their own – keep working at it, great potential

Dusty Rosko- Funky and catchy loved the synth! Cover wasn’t enough of a twist and the diction on the vocal was a little odd

Phoebe Warden- Nice tone to Phoebe’s voice, good singing but more power required from guitar. Not sure the original was strong enough

Chris Wilson- Needed an edge in the sound, was a bit of a classic piano bar mix of Robin S, it needed something a bit more cutting edge. Nice bass playing

Charity Pancaldi- strong vocally and a well delivered original. Liked to have seen more extremes to the dynamics and arrangement, which could have been better. Also work on stage presence as has potential to be very good indeed

Drive through Therapy- Great start to the performance with them all performing and connecting well. Not sure about the image, it seems a bit obvious and overused, but this is easily sorted

Gideon Dowley- Clever lyrics and dynamics. Just work on the stage presence; need to own the stage more. Brilliant acoustic guitar

Empty Headz- Great energy and tight performance. Hated the backing vocals on the cover after an engaging original, support vocals need to be stronger and cover maybe was too long

Nic Keeble- Think maybe nerves affected Nic as suffered from some pitching issues. It would be beneficial to iron those out with some vocal lessons - taking the stress away from the vocal would ease the nerves

New Subjects- Rolled and flowed nice rapping, didn’t feel too forced either so was comfortable. Put a good twist on the cover too. A very strong act going to do well!

September Rain- Vocals suffered with tuning issues on the chorus, work on vocal intonation, which was a shame as the performance was engaging and you’re clearly enjoying performing

Too Late the Future- Loved the vocals, really powerful, tight and musically full, guitars had a lovely ring! Image let them down, which can be addressed

Two Steps Twice- Good original, all performing as well, image conscious and more importantly a fun band that’s pretty much everything isn’t it!?

Tony Blaize- Lovely voice, really drive home the emotion of the song by engaging more. Where was the original? Needs to now look to develop his own material as that will move things on for Tony

Sort You Right Nice- Liked the use of props, great confidence and energy. Bass guitarist must be fit high knees all the way. Drummer needs to tighten up, one to watch for the future

Anna Pancaldi- Great adaption of the cover, lovely guitar, great vocal range with control and a musical gem. This girl has star quality!

Panning For Gold- Well rehearsed with good energy and performance. These guys are very consistent and will be a force in the final

Final 3

Up Down Go Machine- Good voice, tight musically and interesting choice of cover, but it was basically a band doing a cover version of the Massive Attack song? Where was the original? Or did we miss that?

Dig Deep- Good potential, solid without being that distinctive. Good front lady, very cute, who owned the stage - not too much coming from the boys on guitar performance wise

Elijah MC- Pretty funky stuff, with lovely use of a loop pedal to build up the track. Needs to add Nigel Kennedy violinist type of performance to the proceedings to create mass appeal

Billy Wears Dressers- Hook was pretty repetitive and that was after one listen, probably need to calm down using the same line too much and this song would be much more appealing as it’s catchy. Performed well but make everything sounds less predictable and repetitive

Big Dogg- Nice change up with the rappers coming on part way through the track, seemed to rely on the cover as the main pull of their performance, original song didn’t seem that strong. Loved the bass!

Secca- Made the cover her own. Although an engaging performance, failed to really captivate and connect with the music

Spineless Yes Men- Good front man and couldn’t fault the performance, but couldn’t always hear the diction of the lyrics. Need to work on the clarity of the sound

Turning Days- Good energy and performed as one, but need to watch mic control as the power was inconsistent from the vocals. Lead singer could connect more with the audience. Brilliant bass solo!

Kadan Fire & Shereece- Female vocalists really performed it well and vocally very strong, not sure the rapper has enough stage presence. Not all the judges agreed, but a couple felt the acting got in the way, detracting from the singing performance and song un-necessarily negative

Mastema- Great choice of cover- perfect attitude for rock! Could have benefitted stage performance by not staying on top of the speaker for so long. Perhaps another act that is relying too heavily on the cover and not showing enough of the original

Small Acre- Not so sure on the cover mash up, would have liked to see the original shine through more. No real connection with the audience, which is easily rectified if they engage with the audience more

The Lilymoons- Rest of the band could have supported the lead more, not so sure the bass player turned to face us during the whole performance? The ability to connect with your audience is vital and need to engage them in order to do this

Markham Lodge- Markham always connects with his music and that is so special, he’s a real performer! Just needs to rely less on the covers.

The Filthy Habits- The band are very engaging and musically one of the best of the day. Current, cool with good Interaction and chemistry amongst the band

The Merry Gang- Good original, really catchy, with a potential single all over it. Image is in sync with the music which is always good

The Run Out- Loved the single, tailed a little towards the end. Backing vocals could have been more powerful. Could have collaborated better together and perform as one, which watching over footage will help shape

Tubby Boy- This guy is total fun and full of energy, with great stage presence! should do a collaboration with the Cheeky girls or Jedward and would smash it. Seems to be a bit stuck with whether to go cheesy pop or old school hip hop, which the latter was more the case at Brighton

Fall to Oblivion- Some serious synchronised head banging going on, nice guitar riffs and a well thought out version of cover

 Welcome to Purgatory- Tight act with bass spot on and a good front man, rest of act should work on stage presence

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 for further details of guest acts playing the London’s biggest indoor festival “Live Fest” incorporating the National Grand Final visit www.LiveFest.co.uk