Last night’s Battle of the Bands Final saw Thornbury group Cassette emerge as victors in front of a sell-out crowd at Bradley Stoke Community School (BSCS).

The five-piece band, whose members all attend Castle School Sixth Form, clinched the £200 prize after topping the audience vote, which took place after each of the nine groups/artists had performed a six-minute set.

The enthusiastic 200-strong audience, a mixture of teenagers and proud parents, helped create a great atmosphere with many leaving their seats to create a swaying mass in front of the stage.

All the bands performed to a remarkably high standard, despite some being relatively inexperienced and at least one making their first public appearance.

Pieces performed by the bands ranged from a cover of the Lady Gaga hit “Just dance” by winners Cassette to self-written work like runners-up Pan Arcadia’s “Whats’ my age”.

The highly successful evening, which was organised by BSCS students Sam Beaumont and Joel Ip,  raised around £1,200 towards the cost of the pair’s World Challenge educational trip to India in August 2011.

Read on for the full results and photos of all the bands in action »

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The Battle of the Bands contest reaches an exciting climax this coming weekend when nine young local groups and solo artists compete for a £200 prize.

The event, which takes place on Saturday 6th November at Bradley Stoke Community School (BSCS) from 7pm, will see the audience vote for their favourite band and select the overall champion.

The evening promises to be a memorable event as these young talented musicians are bursting with enthusiasm and excitement.

For recently-formed bands Motivate, Empty Within and The Students this will be their first gig, while other entries like Cassette have been together for over two years and have a string of successful gigs behind them.

One thing they all share is a vision for success: “Our dream is to play to thousands of people and they then sing our songs back to us!”, say Pan Arcadia, who were formed just a month ago.

The winning band will be invited to play a 45 minute set, centre stage at the Bradley Stoke Community Festival in June 2011.

Read on to find out how to buy tickets for the Battle of the Bands »

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Local performers are being invited to take part in a ‘Battle of the Bands’ contest, which will raise funds to enable two teenagers from Bradley Stoke Community School (BSCS) to go on an educational trip to Southern India.

Entry costs £15 and the winning band will receive a cash prize of £200 (courtesy of Bradley Stoke Matters) and be invited to play a 45 minute set, centre stage at Bradley Stoke Community Festival in June 2011 (courtesy of Southern Brooks Community Partnership).

Applications to take part in the competition must be received by 20th October.

A number of audition events are planned for October, from which a panel of judges will select seven artists to perform live on-stage at the Battle of the Bands final on Saturday 6th November 2010.

At the final, the audience will be asked to vote for their favourite band and select the overall champion.

All monies raised will be used by the event organisers, Sam Beaumont and Joel Ip (two 15-year-olds at BSCS), to fund an educational trip to India in August 2011, where they will be working on a community project as well as exploring the country and culture.

Joel said:

“Whether you are a solo performer, a band looking for an opportunity to perform or a group of friends wanting to share their music, you are invited to come and join us for the Battle of the Bands.”

Full details of the competition are available on the dedicated Battle of the Bands website. You can also follow the latest developments on Twitter (@joelschallenge).

Read on to find out more about the planned trip to India »

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