By Sophie Nevrkla
Academy Music Group, in association with Fireball UK, has announced a competition for eight local, regional bands to open a show for the ‘Fireball: Fuelling the Fire’ tour.
The tour will include Less Than Jake, The Skints and Mariachi El Bronx, all established artists in their own right. Japanese ska-punk band KEMURI and psychedelic reggae punk band The Bennies are also set to join on a few dates.
The tour, which will be a celebration of punk rock, reggae, ska and roots music, is scheduled for October 2016. Each band will be chosen by a panel of industry experts, journalists and the bands from the tour, and selected on the basis of the quality of their music. Events will take place in London, Bristol, Sheffield, Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow, Manchester and Bournemouth, with each band having a chance to play a hometown opening show of 20 minutes before the main acts. The London show at the O2 Academy Brixton will include a special DJ set from Matt Stocks, DJ for Kerrang! Radio, Scuzz TV and Team Rock Radio.
Fireball UK Brand Manager, James Pattison, states that Fireball is “delighted to offer the opportunity to a new, young band.” Adding that it is the long term aim’ of Fireball UK to “help bring these musicians to the fore.”
Tickets are on sale for £10 (prices have been slashed from their original price of £30), meaning that the gigs are easily affordable for young fans.
The competition opened on Monday, July 11th and closes on Sunday, August 14th at 11.59pm. Winners will be announced on Friday, August 26th. Full terms and conditions can be found at https://academymusicgroup.com/fireballcompetition.
