Merseyrail Soundstation has been scouring the county to find the best of Merseyside's new and upcoming bands and singers and this was the culmination with 10 finalists competing for a first prize of a year of mentoring, professional advice and studio time. I'm not going to give chapter and verse on all the different genres of music filling the station, but it was a good mix of styles, and this was the line up, I've included twitter links for all the bands/singers so you can embark on your own voyage of discovery... station, train, embark... oh please yourselves...
The Haze
Second time I've seen this band, and impressed me again with their sound. I had these down in my top 3 to win. Definitely one to watch on the scene.
The Roscoes
I've heard some good things about The Roscoes but never managed to catch them until now. I'll be looking out for their gigs though, like to listen to more of their material in a more traditional setting.
So Sexual
Dominic Dunn
On top form with I'm On My Way; Keep Them Tight; and The Angel. I have to admit I wasn't totally sold with The Angel when I watched the Live TV session, but live it really worked and captivated the audience. Dominic is only 16 (or so he tells us lol), so its exciting to know he's going to get better and better as he gets older.
Filter Distortion
Another band I'd never heard of, but with a really cool vibe, reminded me in parts of Roxy Music (cue loads of younger readers saying "who?"). Very professional sounding. If they are "up and coming" I have to ask, "where the hell have you been hiding?"
Beanzy
As you may know I'm not the biggest fan of Rap or Grime, but Beanzy had some good lyrics and a decent backing track.
The Willz
These boys definitely turned up the volume with some good old fashioned punk. Even though I lived through punk the first time round it was never my thing, and I'm still agnostic about it. But if its your style of music check these guys out.
Sophia Ben-Yousef
A 17 year old singer/songwriter. Really nice mature voice, and another singer producing some good quality material
Soho Riots
Appearing without powder paint (presumably even Merseyrail draw the line somewhere). By coincidence I'd seen their video for Sweet Spot the day before so was pleased to see them in the flesh too. In my top 3 to win and win they duly did. Well deserved. You can read more in their winner's profile
Veyu
Yet another band I'd never heard of, although in my defence they are quite new, 4/5ths of them were appearing, and I was impressed with their sound. I'll make sure I catch them at full strength, and you should too.
I didn't have time to head to Hopskotch Street Kitchen & Bar - hopskotchliverpool.com - for the results, so I began heading for the exit to walk up to the Ropewalks, then remembered I was in a station and turned round and caught a train instead!
Its really good to have Merseyrail running this, make sure you catch their monthly podcasts on their website
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