December 2023 saw the return of the spectacular QE Battle of the Bands competition. There were 4 bands taking part, bringing their talents to the stage in a battle of genres! The four groups taking part were; Maeve and the Trains, The Ransoms, No Ripcord and Wednesday Flowers. Every band worked independently, organising rehearsals in lunchtimes or free lessons and choosing their own material. Three bands also featured songs they’d written themselves, and all of Maeve and the Trains set were brilliant original songs written by singer guitarist Aisha Hammond, which feature dynamic band arrangements and clever witty lyrics. Both this band and The Ransoms delivered slick confident performances as they already perform professionally at local venues regularly. There was also a superb warm up act, solo performer Anna Stevenson delivered a spell binding short set with just an acoustic guitar for accompaniment.
Our students had a wonderful time taking part as well as watching, and each voted for their favourite artist once all the performances were finished. It was a close competition, but coming out victorious were punk band Maeve and the Trains, comprised of students Aisha Hammond, Ella Aspin and Luke Dewey, with part of their prize being studio time to record their debut single.
Popular Music Course Leader, Mike Hepple comments ‘It was wonderful – with covers of songs ranging from Fleetwood Mac to The Foo fighters and Arctic Monkeys there was something for everyone!’
