Garage to V competition nowopen - enter for your band'schance to play at V Fest

Mon 10th Dec, 2007 in Local News

The inaugural Garage to V comp kicked off earlier this year and saw over 900 bands jump online over the space of a few weeks all vying for a spot on the mainstage at the inaugural Australian V Festival. This month the comp returns with bands once again slugging it out for a slot at V Fest. This time they will be fighting for a chance to play alongside the likes of Jesus and Mary Chain, QOTSA, and Smashing Pumpkins...

Once again Virgin Mobile have teamed up with FasterLouder and Modular to offer this career-making prize to Australia’s best new talent. Garage 2 V gives an unsigned band the gig of a lifetime in front of over 100 000 punters at V Festival, touring nationally as the opening act at the second Australian V Festival in March/April 2008 across
all 4 events (Sydney, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Perth).

Last year’s comp winners – The Seabellies, a 6 piece hailing from steel-city, Newcastle, showed us exactly what a gold vein of unearthed talent is out there waiting to be found. They went on to stun the crowds at the V Festival 2007 with their lush & layered sound, with a showbiz presence beyond their youthful age. Proving that it was no fluke, they cracked some major support shows throughout the rest of the year including stints beside heavyweights such as Augie March, Something For Kate, Softlightes (US), andthe Veils (UK). Now recording their first album, Trent, the lead singer had this to say about the competition that discovered them:

“Garage 2 V was unbelievable. Not only was it the best weekend of our lives, playing the main stage, rubbing shoulders with the stars, getting the full tour treatment, we also made great industry contacts from all over the world. Playing a high-cred festival like V Festival is a big gold star on our resume. It has made touring a lot more accessible and opened many doors for us”.

This year, Garage 2 V comes with a twist! Bands in each state will initially battle it out in local shows for the chance to be flown to the Sydney final, where they’ll hope to impress the industry judges. However, one lucky band that doesn’t make it through this way will be given a second chance by being voted back into the final by the public! This wildcard entry will then have an equal chance of winning the prize as the other lucky four that made it through originally.

Free tickets to each final will be available to the general public from
www.garage2v.com.au and offered to fasterlouder members. Get amongst it to see fantastic up and coming bands battling it out for the chance to open Virgin Mobile’s V Festival 2008, plus awesome guest bands, without paying a cent! Bands that played at the finals last year included the golden children of this years Aria awards, Operator Please, the Temper Trap and The Silence. You’d be mad not to!

Bands can enter the Garage 2 V competition by uploading their music to www.garage2v.com.au Entries close on the 23rd January. Judges will be announced shortly – stay tuned to FasterLouder for details.