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stop stardom - Southport Train Station gets on board for annual music
competition
LOCAL musicians from Southport are
being invited to take part in the annual Merseyrail Sound Station music
competition.
The competition, which is celebrating its 4th Anniversary this year, is a unique
collaboration between Merseyrail and renowned music magazine Bido Lito!
The competition encourages local, undiscovered musicians to film themselves on a
smartphone, performing an original track at one of seven designated performance
locations on the Merseyrail network:- Liverpool Central, Liverpool South
Parkway, Southport, Kirkby, Wallasey Grove Road, Hoylake and Hooton.
The videos are then uploaded to the Merseyrail Sound Station Facebook page and
the 10 best entries are invited to perform at a 1 day festival at Moorfield's Train
Station.
A panel of music industry experts select the final winner, who will record with
former Joy Division and New Order Engineer Michael Johnson. They also receive a
full year of professional music industry mentoring, recording time and free
train travel on Merseyrail.
The eventual winner also gains the opportunity to appear on the project's free
monthly podcast which features exclusive live sessions with some of the region's
most exciting new bands, the latest new sounds from across the Merseyrail
network, and breaking new music news from Liverpool. The Sound Station project
also curate a pop up stage which gives emerging artists an opportunity to play
at the regions top festivals including:- Sound City, Africa Oyé and LIMF.
David O'Leary, Merseyrail's Commercial Director, said:- "It seems an
unlikely allegiance between a train operating company and a music magazine, but
each year the competition is going from strength to strength. In the past 4
years, we've had more than 300 local musicians enter the competition and it is
gaining critical acclaim in the city's music scene. It's been a great way to
connect with, and entertain, our passengers, as well as celebrate Liverpool's
well known association with music."
Craig Pennington, editor of Bido Lito! and director of the creative consultancy,
Syndikat, which organises the event, said:- "It's a hugely satisfying
project for Syndikat to be involved with. It's great to connect Merseyrail
with the local music community and give the region's wealth of talent various
opportunities to make itself heard."
Former winners include Katy Alex and rapper Blue Saint who both have gone on to
perform at some of the area's biggest festivals and gigs and develop their sound
as a result of the mentoring process.
Entries for the competition close, on Saturday, 22 October 2016 and the Merseyrail
Sound Station final takes place, on 19 November 2016, between 1pm to 5pm, at Moorfields,
with a presentation evening taking place at new music venue Hus.
For more information on how to get involved with the competition, visit:-
MerseyRailSoundStation.Com. |
