What Did We Organise for Last Year's Contestants?
The Upper Hand East Devon Overall Winner
The Upper Hand were the overall winners and got the first prize of having a song recorded by R&K Systems. But it ended up being a 5 track EP! This will be mixed and mastered by Pete Marten, who was awarded “Best Producer” at the MIDI TV Devon Music Awards.
They will also be taking over the Jason Maddocks show on Phonic Fm to promote their EP. They supported the Barefoot Bandit, played the Anchor in Sidmouth during Folk Week, Exeter Street Arts Festival, Goren Festival and “Kabin Fever Festival” at the Balfour Arms.
They have gigs lined up this year supporting the Kabins at Move and Axminster Guildhall as well as a slot on the highly-coveted “Mad Dog McCrea Weekend” at the Exeter Phoenix in May.
They went on to win “Best Newcomer” at the MIDI TV Devon Music Awards in January 2024. View the EPK we produced for them
“Entering last year’s competition was a great experience for us as a band to pitch ourselves at the forefront of a growing music community in Devon, and the opportunities we have had since winning the event have been great at putting us on the path we want to venture down as an upcoming artist.” says Aaron Samuel, Lead singer of the Upper Hand.
“Some of our favourite memories in our journey so far have included playing at Sidmouth Folk Festival, Goren Festival, alongside The Barefoot Bandit at the Beehive Theatre, and most recently at the Devon Music Awards after being crowned ‘Devon’s Best New Artist 2024.’ All those came as a byproduct of the Battle of the Bands, and we are extremely excited to be currently recording our first singles with R&K Systems as part of our spoils as victors. We cannot thank the competition and it’s organisers enough for giving local artists such as ourselves these opportunities.” continues Aaron.
The Stereo Problems - North Devon Winners
Okehampton band The Stereo Problems secured some incredible opportunities: They’ve been invited to play at Petroc’s end-of-year Music Show, they’ll be featured in an interview and performance session at The Voice FM, and they will get an exclusive recording session at Petroc’s recording studio!
The Pigeons - East Devon Juniors Winner
The Pigeons won the juniors category as the judges were all very impressed with their cover of Amy & The Sniffers song “Hertz”
They are due to record a song with R&K Systems in March, with Pete Marten mixing and mastering the song for release on Spotify.
Bianca Beavis - East Devon Singer Songwriter Winner
Bianca Beavis won the singer-songwriter category. The judges were all impressed that all the songs she played were hers.
She has since played the Kings Arms, Yarty Party, Exmouth Festival and Sidmouth Folk Week
She was also interviewed and performed on radio.