Pre-Event Post: Music Awards of Staffordshire and Cheshire

Hello!

I am honoured to have the opportunity to attend such a beautiful event next month – the Music Awards of Staffordshire and Cheshire. I believe that our local music scene is currently in its prime, and to be able to get involved in it is such a privilege. The event is a brilliant way for the industry to come together and celebrate what’s important. I’ve caught up with organiser Lee Barber, as well as some of the nominees and sponsors! Here’s what everyone has to say!

I asked Lee why he’d decided to set up the Music Awards of Staffordshire and Cheshire; he replied, ‘I’ve set up the Music Awards of Staffordshire and Cheshire to celebrate the amazing music and musicians we have. There is so much talent. Across many different genres of music, going unappreciated, and the aim of the music awards is to not only give musicians’ recognition for their talent, but also get their name spread across the area. I think the event itself, at the Kings Hall on Friday 12^th of February, will also provide a great opportunity for musicians to connect with other budding artists as well as promoters, recording artists and music managers who will be in attendance.’ – Lee Barber

The titles that are being awarded at the event are shown below, along with the list of nominees in each category:

There are a number of local sponsors for the event, whom I asked ‘how does it feel to be involved in the Music Awards of Staffordshire and Cheshire’ which prompted some lovely and enthusiastic replies!

Riff Factory (sponsoring the Best Single Award) stated, ‘It’s great, at Riff Factory, we want to bring as many people together as possible to create a strong community again in the local music scene. This event is doing exactly that.’

‘We believe that [the local music scene] is getting stronger and stronger with each passing opportunity. With how popular this event has become, it really shows too.’

‘We are really looking forward to seeing everyone in the music scene together and celebrating what the music scene should be about, which is having fun!’

Record Producer, Sam Bloor (sponsoring the Best Record Award) said, ‘it’s a great honour to be a part of something like this! It’s a really new and exciting idea, so it should be a lot of fun too. There are some incredible bands and musicians right here, in Stoke, so I feel really proud to be a sponsor.’

I also wanted to get in and amongst the talented musicians that have been nominated for awards to see how they felt about being nominated and what it would be like for them to win. I also asked what their opinion is regarding our local music scene, and the Music Awards event that had been established to celebrate it. Here are some of the best responses:

Poliptik: ‘We are honoured and excited to have been acknowledged with the nomination. This city has always had a band to be proud of at any given time over the decades past but right now - at a time where the arts are being squeezed and also as this city bids to be named 'European City of Culture' - the creative explosion has led to so many good new bands appearing and Poliptik are super happy to have been noticed amongst this, whatever the outcome of the award.

We feel that the Award Event is a great step towards pushing the area's music closer in to the public's conscious and now there seems to be a coming together of the area's Music scene - from the acts, the studios that bands use, to Six Towns Radio, BBC Stoke and The Sentinel, and some brave local promoters - so moving forward anything that all these musical acts want to achieve now comes with a strong level of support and blessing from people who deeply care about music.’

Alter Eden: ‘The nomination alone is incredible - some of the bands that we're up against have been some of our favourite bands from the area (and nationally) for years, so even being compared with these guys in the same breath is a huge compliment, let alone being compared to them as peers.

Of course, winning the award would be amazing - music fans are at the heart of EVERYTHING that we do so to be held in that high a regard from voters would be one of those warm fuzzy moments that you dream about as a musician.

Stoke on Trent & Staffordshire on the whole has one of the most diverse and exciting music scenes in the country - in some ways it's a shame that bands judge their own success by their ability to break out of it to be honest. Every weekend (and often in mid-week too) there will be a gig worth going to going on somewhere in the city.

I love the fact that [the Music Awards event] picked up such pace in such a short amount of time. There's such a high quality of bands coming out of Staffordshire & Cheshire, it's exciting to see a celebration of that quality.’

Tussk: ‘We're really proud to be put up for nomination in such a tough category alongside so many awesome bands. The local rock scene is on form at the minute. If we won it'd be great but even getting nominated means that people dig what we're doing which is awesome.

[The Music Awards Event] a great way of bringing awareness across all of the musical genres that Staffordshire and Cheshire are producing, which is awesome for the local scene. We take our hats off to the guys behind it all.’

Sworn To Oath: ‘We're privileged to be up for the award & for the support from our local scene. We're really proud of where we're from so to be recognized in our territory for our hard work would mean a lot!

I think [the local music scene]’s better than it's ever been, there's some really exiting bands coming out of the area & it's great to be a part of it.

Mirror Signal: ‘[The nomination] felt really cool actually. I'm not actually from the area, I've been studying here for the last 3 years, so it's really nice to be accepted and recognised for my music in the area.

I think there are some great acts coming out of the area, like Delamere and Racing Glaciers. Also venues like the Sugarmill offer bands cool opportunities to support bigger bands and play to friends. I think as all award ceremonies do, it will help to make people more aware of the scene and hopefully appreciate it and want to contribute.’

Chris Hough: ‘It absolutely insane I can't get my head around it in the slightest, like I'm nothing special all I do is play guitar sing and write songs with my band like, I'm so overwhelmed about it all. It's mad like proper madness and I haven't even thought about winning it I'm just over the moon to have even been nominated, there's so much talent up for the same award I've got no chance.

Stokes scene finally looks like it's doing something again, it's been dead since like 2012 and it's finally picking up again I love it, I love local music like its literally all I listen to, as for the awards evening it's brilliant, Lee Barber deserves a medal, everyone involved does. One day people will know stoke and not just for football or pottery, music will put stoke on the map if we all carry on the way we are.’

Ryan Dooley: ‘[To win the award would] mean a lot but I believe John Dhali should win it this year as I've been largely inactive due to illness. It's great to be recognised though and I'm looking forward to this year immensely. There'll be a release and a lot more shows. There is some top talent on the scene at the moment.’

Lost Russle: ‘Shocked! I love my music, so hearing other people enjoy it as much as I do is a super boost for me. I wrote it in college whilst I was supposed to be doing an assignment deadline so I wasn't expecting the track to get so far! To think that somebody likes my music enough to nominate it for an award, no matter how significant, it instils a lovely kinda warmth inside. Hearing people respect you and your art is awesome when you've worked for it.

It would mean a massive lot to monument the debuting of my music, especially with such a thing as an award. Not only would it be the first award I've won since primary school, but in much distaste, it'd be a proud, intermediate 'in your face/told you so' message to all the shit teachers I've had. It would mean consolidating my career; however it decides to pan out, which is a good feeling as a young artist.’

The Gurus: ‘We are very happy to have been nominated and are thankful for the recognition of our efforts as a band; it feels like all of our hard work is being recognised. It’s quite an honour. Some top acts in the category, and to be mentioned in the same league as them shows we must be doing something right'

Broken Flags: ‘It's great to be nominated, especially considering how new we actually are. Literally about 3 months in the public domain! It's an incredible event for the area, and all of the nominees are worthy of it. For us though, playing live at the ceremony and wrapping the event up live onstage is what really matters to us.

I've seen quite a few Stoke 'scenes' come and go, and I can honestly say this is one of the most vibrant I have ever been part of. Psyence, Rinse, Delamere and John Dhali amongst others are really taking things up a notch and sounding way ahead of some of the more recognised bands from bigger cities. It's a potentially golden age, and we'll be bang involved throughout.’

Shakedown Stockholm: ‘It would mean a lot. To win any award for doing what we love is an added bonus. We'd love for the record to be recognise as the best in the area we grew up in.

I think [the Music Awards event] is brilliant. The current British music scene allows national awards to go to bands and artists who often aren't worthy of the award they receive. We feel that there are many bands and artists who are unsigned but yet produce just as good, if not better music but haven't yet been given the national recognition some bands have. To have an award night like this allows unsigned bands, not necessarily talking about solely us, to receive the recognition they deserve. We feel, win or lose, it's a great event.’

Narn: ‘I work really hard and I spend all of my time doing music 24/7 so to not just get one nomination but to get 2 is insane, I'm really grateful if I won it would be an amazing feeling! I'm nominated against some really talented musicians and anybody in the categories could win!

I think it's a really awesome event and I'm really excited that there's now an event completely dedicated to celebrating and awarding the local musicians! There's a variety of nominations and musicians of all different genres and styles and I think it's great that everybody's coming together for one night to all be with each other and support each other! It's going to be a really great night.’

Wires: ‘We think it's awesome! Although we've been going for a while, we only completed the present line-up in July -- straight to the rehearsal room, a couple of gigs and recording the single. It means people are listening to local music and that's key.

We dig [the local music scene]. We're in it!

We support local music, we watch local bands, we buy their merch and we spread the word and hope they do the same in return. Stoke seems to be the centre of the local scene; Stafford doesn't have much going on (even though it's the county town) and bigger cities like Manchester and Birmingham have their own thing going on. We're just lads who rehearse in a studio in Burslem who make the music we enjoy - unashamedly - and we spend a lot of time and effort on it, which is why we want to showcase ourselves. I'm sure a lot of local bands do the same - we're all in it together.

Anything that recognises the effort that goes into local music is a plus, if you ask us. I'm sure that regular radio listeners think music just happens and it's almost disposable; so to recognise the fact that bands have to meet, write, rehearse, gig, record, produce, make merchandise and actually like doing that? And each other? It's a wonder any of us get anything done.’

Malthouse: ‘Nice to get recognition by the hierachy of Stoke on Trent’s music scene. We were all happy with the vibe of the EP and the way it turned out so it's great to see it in and amongst other great local acts.

Local music scene is outstanding. Quality everywhere and in all genre camps. The awards evening is a great idea to celebrate good local music.’

Ivory Bloc: ‘It would be an honour to be recognised and win an award for something that we worked hard for, especially as we're trying to push our work in America, to get recognised by our area would be a big thing for us.’

Exowaves: 'Great to be nominated for another award after winning Best Band in the 6 Towns Radio Awards.... Going to be another top night out. It would mean alot to win best New Act because we believe our songs will take us to the heights we deserve to be at.'

Pacific: ‘It would be terrific yeah [to win the award], it's always great to get that little bit of extra attention for one of your songs... especially when it's coming from somewhere local!

Think the music scene is really good - there's a lot of hard working bands in the area, who are supported by equally hard working pluggers, promoters and DJ's.’

Max Raptor: ‘Always cool to have our music recognised, especially as it's where we're from. If we won we'd be stoked (Staffordshire pun).

Think [the Music Awards Event] is cool to support local live music. Guess it's pretty inspiring for new bands too to see the scene being supported like this… Also good chance for a piss up. 

[The local music scene] is good, it can always be better.. There always seem to be little pockets of great music but the support isn't always there. It's about getting people out and putting on great nights where people are getting an awesome night out, discovering new bands and meeting new mates.’ 

Thieves Asylum: 'It was a real shock to us, with us only gigging together for a year, it was amazing to be recognized as a best band. We found out just as we were going on to play our first headline show at The Underground in December so it added to the night perfectly.

Winning would be something special but it already felt like win to be even considered in the same category of the other nominated bands, ones we’ve looked up to in the local scene for a long time.

We are really enjoying our time on the local music scene at the moment, and over the past year have made some top friends with other local musicians. There are some quality bands around the area and hopefully more recognition will come to the scene in general over 2016.

We think [the Music Awards event] been a real positive thing and it's a great excuse to get the beer funnel out.. Top respect to Lee Barber for daring to put something of this scale on, and we wish him and all the bands playing the event all the best on the night.

It's been absolutely incredible being able to speak to all of these musicians this weekend and discussing what we all have in common - a love of great music and raw talent, that can be found right here in the heart of our local community.

*side note - could you all please take 5 minutes to fill in this questionnaire please! https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/Y69FCZ7

Thanks for reading!

Bethan xx