Red Bull Bedroom Jam Final

Tue 17th May, 2011 in Features

It’s safe to say not all that many bands pass through Alice Springs while on tour, so it comes as no surprise that a crowd of 150 passionate locals turned out to cheer on the finalists of the Red Bull Bedroom Jam being held for the very first time in the Red Centre.

The first act of the day is Melbourne singer-songwriter Scott Boyd who despite his small stature, takes to the stage with a confident “It’s great to be here Alice!” The growing crowd of young teenagers and passionate parents evidently enjoy Boyd’s stripped back songs and deep, textured voice which belies his young age. Boyd is the first ever solo performer to make it through to the final stage of the Red Bull Jam, and he does a solid job at capturing the crowd’s attention throughout his fifteen minute set.

Boyd, like the other three finalists at the event, is in the running to win one hell of a prize. Whoever takes out the number one spot at the final will be flown to London to record in Red Bull’s state of the art studios before playing the Download Festival alongside the likes of Def Leppard, System Of A Down and Alice Cooper. Not a bad prize for young artists who have, for the most part, only played a handful of gigs between them.

In fact, the second band up for the day Jagged Lies is only playing together as a fully formed band for the second time ever. Not that it shows. The three piece punk band from Melbourne doesn’t waste anytime setting the mood for the day with their fast paced, high energy rock songs. While they play loosely it is with passion and a genuine ear for good songwriting. The last tune they perform was penned especially for the final and it whips the crowd into a frenzy.

The days proceedings take place at a nature reserve just outside of the town’s centre, as far as imaginable from the bedrooms in which most of these bands have been practicing. The stage on which all the action is taking place sits picturesquely in front of ochre coloured hills and a dry river bed, making for spectacular viewing while watching the bands.

Up next is Welcome Wednesday, a pack of rowdy lads that also hail from Melbourne and who play tight pop-punk anthems which they churn out with a dose of confident stage banter and the occasional scissor kick. Guitarists Max Roberts and Michael Ashfield exchange knowing nods throughout the set, impressing the audience with some high octane, synchronized stage moves and catchy tunes.

While it seems that most of today’s finalists hail from Melbourne, it is just pure coincidence. All four bands battling it out in the final made it through two stages of the competition and beat out over 300 other acts from around Australia to be playing in Alice.