If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook then you will be aware that I have been asked to be one of the judges for Notts Factor, a showcase for some of the best bands and musicians from this fine city of mine. Tony Bates started the event in 2012 but there hasn't been one since which is a shame because it has left Nottingham's music scene without a relevant competition, so somehow he decided to dust it off and bring it back. This year it will be held at Rescue Rooms and offers a £500 prize along with other such treats as studio sessions, a photo shoot, radio coverage and a slot at next year's Waterfront Festival (although to be fair it isn't hard to get a slot at Waterfront).
Tonight myself and a panel of people from around the area including Jackie P from Kemet FM met up at Tony's house to listen to submissions and whittle down the list to create a final line up, none of the messing around with different heats and stages for this competition. We had beer and a large variety of nibbles and listened to around 40 artists, two songs each although we only heard a minute of each one, while we made notes and scored them out of twenty. What struck me was how much great music is being made in Nottingham, and how much crap too, so it was harder than I imagined it would be to bump people in favour of others. Of course there were also bands that I wanted to see in the final but I was out voted but the whole thing was done fairly with everybody having their say.
Organising something on this scale must have been a nightmare so hats off to Tony for it, he has it all planned to a tight running order which I am confident will fall apart if not at the start of the evening but certainly will at some point before the night is out.
The Hockley Hustle Practice Run can be viewed here.
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September housekeeping
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