A major music event and fundraiser was organised by local young people at the newly established Moon on the Water venue
When? mid 2017
Partners: VANEL. IGNITE youth team. Moon on the Water.
Battle of the Bands was a fundraising event in 2017 which Big Local North Cleethorpes supported through involvement and publicity rather than direct funding. The event took place at the Moon on the Water venue but was directly organised by the IGNITE youth project at VANEL who made the event a reality and raised some money for Women’s Aid through the event. A fun music event for the local community
Story about the event as originally reported by VANEL in 2017:
Last weekend nearly 200 people turned out to watch nine talented bands and singers from around Lincolnshire to battle it out at Moon On The Water for a charity fundraising event. IGNITE’s Battle of the Bands (BOTB) was created to showcase local talent and raise money for Women’s Aid and Youth Music as part of ‘Give A Gig‘ week 2017. The event was a huge success, raising an incredible £781 to be divided between the two charities.
The idea to hold a Battle of the Bands-style event came from 16-year-old Uniformed Services student, and IGNITE Project Leader Charitie Robinson. Charitie approached the IGNITE team with the idea late last year, and has been working closely with them ever since. Over the last few months Charitie has been busy recruiting bands and singers, setting up meetings, promoting the event within the local media, and has even appeared on Estuary TV.
Whilst the purpose of the event was to raise as much money as possible for Women’s Aid and Youth Music, BOTB was also a talent competition. Judging the competition was IGNITE Project Leader Mica Armstrong, former VANEL/NELC employee and music enthusiast Josh Short, local singer/song writer Rick Emsley and local musician Mark Wollington. The competition was split into three rounds with a £150 cash prize donated by North Cleethorpes Big Local and the chance for the winning act to headline one of Moon On The Water‘s upcoming Rock Nights.
The battle lines were drawn just after 7:30pm, with local band Kubrik opening the evening’s entertainment. In round one, each act performed two songs. After each act had performed in round one the judges deliberated before deciding which four acts would go through to round two. After a period of deliberation, the judges made their decision and the four acts who had made it through to the next round was announced. The Forgotten, who made their public debut in round one, along with Ruby and the Knights, Reversing Destiny and Soloist Amy Hallett all made it through to the second round. Knowing that their performance in round two would influence whether or not they made it through to the final, the four acts gave it their all, with soloisist Amy Hallett delivering a particularly awe-inspiring rendition of ‘What’s Up’ by 4 Non Blondes.
After each act had performed one song in round two, the judges were once again tasked with the difficult job of deciding which two acts would go head to head in the final round. The judges delivered their verdict and IGNITE Project Leader Charitie announced that The Forgotten and Reversing Destiny were the two acts chosen to battle it out in the final. It was clear from both performances that neither act was content with coming second, with the lead singer of The Forgotten singing their original song ‘5’ whilst perched on the shoulders of riled up fans. Reversing Destiny gave an equally exciting rendition of their original song ‘Look at What the Cat Dragged In’.
After listening to both performances, the judges were, for the last time, asked to make the near-impossible decision as to which band should be crowned the winner. After a period of deliberation, the judges returned with their verdict. Charitie took to the stage once more and announced that Reversing Destiny had won IGNITE’s Battle Of The Bands 2017. Just before the strike of midnights when the event was meant to finish, judge Rick Emsley took to the stage and invited the winning band to perform once more, much to the delight of the audience. True to form, Reversing Destiny did not dissapoint, delivering a sped-up version of their previous song which the audience could sing along to.
Speaking about their win, the band’s guitarist 21-year-old Darryl Brown said: “We came into the competition thinking that we wouldn’t win so when we got to the final I was really surprised. When we found out that we had actually won it was completely overwhelming, we were all so happy. The money we have won will go towards upgrading our current music equipment”.
The band’s bassest, 21-year-old Jay Jassie said: “We’re so used to being underestimated and not receiving credit for the work we put into our music, that it was shocking when we received the level of support that we did from the people in the audience”.
Reversing Destiny will be performing at the Lincoln Imp in Scunthorpe on the evening of Saturday 27th May and supporting co-BOTB participant’s ‘Resonance’ at The Matrix in Grimsby on 24th June. Keep your eyes peeled on the IGNITE Facebook page for details about Reversing Destiny’s upcoming performance headlining Moon On The Water’s Rock Night.
The VANEL/IGNITE team would like to say a big thank you to everyone who participated, volunteered or supported IGNITE’s BOTB event. In addition to raising money through ticket sales, the event was also home to a fundraising tombola. We would, in particular, like to say thank you to North Cleethorpes Big Local, the team at Moon On The Water, our judges and the people and businesses who contributed to our tombola.
Some images from the evening
