Garage to V - Virgin Mobile: Blowing the Lid Off Live Music
Virgin Mobile teams up with FasterLouder.com.au & Modular to offer a career-making prize for Australia’s best new talent
Garage to V gives an unsigned band the gig of a lifetime in front of over 100 000 punters at V Festival, touring nationally in 2008 and playing alongside smashing pumpkins and Duran Duran!
Virgin Mobile proudly announces the return of the groundbreaking ‘Garage to V’ - a battle of the bands competition to find the cream of the crop in Oz music talent and give them a once in a lifetime opportunity, not to mention instant credibility.
The inaugural Virgin Mobile ‘Garage to V’ comp heard over 900 hopeful entries from up-and-coming bands, all eager to scoop the main prize: opening the very first V Festival in the southern hemisphere at the Sydney & Gold Coast gigs in early 2007.
This time round the stakes are even higher! The winning band will strut their stuff in front of more than 100,000 discerning punters when they raise the curtain at the second Australian V Festival in March/April 2008 across all 4 events (Sydney, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Perth) playing alongside the likes of Smashing Pumpkins and Duran Duran!
Last year’s comp winners - The Seabellies, a 6 piece hailing from steel-town Newcastle, NSW - 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), and the Veils (UK). Now recording their first album, Trent, the lead singer had this to say about the competition that discovered them:
"Garage to 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 to 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.garagetov.com.au, and offered to www.fasterlouder.com.au 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 to V competition by uploading their music to
www.garagetov.com.au, entries close on the 23rd January. Judges will be announced shortly.
Garage to V competition opens on the 7th December 2007
Competition closes on the 23rd January 2008
Bands enter by setting up their own bands web page which features their bio and tracks. Go to www.garagetov.com to see how it’s done.
A ‘Wildcard Entry’ will be awarded to one lucky band by being voted back into the final by the public!
Industry judges to be announced soon
Garage 2 V is now in its second year with last year’s winners The Seabellies going on to score gigs around Australia and supporting the likes of Augie March, Something For Kate, Softlightes (US), and the Veils (UK)
Tickets to each heat and final are FREE and only available from
www.garagetov.com.au and fasterlouder.com.au members, so register today so you don’t miss out
Heats and Finals will take place on the following dates:
Victoria Heat - Wed 27 Feb at The Toff
WA Heat - Thurs 28th Feb at The bakery
QLD Heat - Thurs 6th March at The Troubadour
NSW Heat - Wed 05th March at The Spectrum
Final - Thurs 13th March at the Oxford Arts Factory
