A capacity crowd packed Norton Hill School Arts Theatre on the evening of Wednesday, 28th June to be treated to an amazing display of musical talent at The Battle of the Bands competition.

Nine bands from Norton Hill and Somervale Schools competed for a variety of awards in this popular annual event. The performers were from Year Eight upwards, and have been developing their musical and performance skills through the Club Rock after school clubs. Pupils attending Club Rock are mentored and guided by Sydney Bull, ex Norton Hill student and successful and experienced musician.

The audience of the bands friends, parents and carers, school staff and members of the public enjoyed a wide range of music styles performed with energy and enthusiasm, with each band performing two songs, either covers or originals. The performers had the audience dancing, singing and clapping along to their music, with many bands working the crowd as well as any professional act. The atmosphere throughout was electric and each act was received with loud applause and cheers! Compèring and introducing each act in a style all her own was Jess Jones, Head of Music at Norton Hill, with fellow music teacher, Tom Hall, handling all technical issues with professionalism and skill.

The judges who had the difficult task of awarding certificates were Mr. Ewen Lappin-Cook, Assistant Headteacher at Norton Hill School, Martyn Plant, Midsomer Norton Deputy Mayor and local event organiser, and Billy Swift, keyboard player in The Entitled Sons, a popular local band that are quickly achieving great success, having recently played Glastonbury and many other local festivals.

After each act the judges gave their comments, received enthusiastically by performers and audience alike. When all the acts had performed the judges retired to make their decisions, while the audience were entertained by more established act, and previous winner, Out of Order, and The Frankie Tonizzo Brass Band.

The winning bands:

Overall winner - Survivorz, Best Newcomer – Wonder, Best cover song performance – Loophole,

Best original song performance- Last Revival, Best rock performance- The Pix, Best female vocal- Esther Maine (Loophole), Best male vocal- Ollie Cainey (The Pix).

The other bands were Abandoned, Fuel, Earths Gravity, and Danny Random. The judges agreed that all the acts had given great performances and they were looking forward to seeing their progress and success in the future.

Some bands were performing in public for the first time, while others had given their first public performance at the recent Midsomer Music and Arts Festival. Some of the bands are booked to play at the upcoming Town Fayre on Saturday, 8th July.

Midsomer Norton Deputy Mayor, Martyn Plant said: “It’s wonderful to see such amazing talent and enthusiasm being given opportunities to perform within the school and the local community. I look forward to more music and performances from these and other young performers in the future, and hope the Town Council and other organisations can support and encourage them.

“We are very fortunate in this town in having such dedicated and skilled performing arts departments, and teachers, that have nurtured and encouraged performers over the years.”