News

Finalists Announced For The Lovebox / NME Breakthrough Competition

• 15th Jun 2010

NME Editor Krissi Murison and Groove Armada’s Tom Findlay are amongst the judges to shortlist five new bands competing in the NME Breakthrough search to open the main stage at this year’s Lovebox festival.

Alongside Krissi and Tom, a panel of music industry judges including NME New Music Editor, Jaimie Hodgson; Peter Elliot from Primary Talent International and Rob Silver from Lovebox, have listened to hundreds of unsigned acts in a quest to find the band that will appear at London’s biggest festival, Lovebox, in Victoria Park on July 16.

Groove Armada’s Tom Findlay said: “I was really impressed with the quality of music we listened to and spent a long time coming to a decision about the five we chose. It’s great to see new music in this country is stronger than ever and we would be delighted to share a stage with any of the 5 bands on this list”.

NME New Music Editor Jaimie Hodgson adds “Listening to the long list it made us all realise just how much brilliant new music is rising up through the NME Breakthrough ranks. Whittling them down was an incredibly tough task, especially taking into account the specifics of what a main stage opening slot at a festival like Lovebox entails!”

Over the last month over 1500 bands have signed up to NME Breakthrough, a brand new community for the best new music to be in with a chance of bagging the coveted slot. The panel has selected five bands which will now go through to go a public vote. They are:

May 68 from Manchester (link)
Matt Henshaw from East Midlands (link)
Visions Of Trees from London (link)
Loose Talk Costs Lives from Leeds and London (link)
The Heartbreaks from Manchester (link)

Voting will open on June 11 at link. Whichever artist gets the most votes before July 4 will win the opening slot on the main stage of Friday Lovebox.

The winner will be announced on July 5.