How to play Beverley Festival 2012!Beverley Festival will be giving four unsigned bands and acts the chance to play at their 2012 event, as a prize of the Live & Unsigned 2012 competition!Beverley Festival is the one of the UK’s biggest Folk, Acoustic, Roots festival held in Beverley, Yorkshire and it returns between Friday 15th and Sunday 17th June 2012. 

Beverley Festival
Beverley Festival is an incredibly diverse family festival , it promises to offer 3 nights & 2 days of breathtaking music from International Artists, Dance, Comedy, Film, Spoken Word, Acoustic Sessions, Workshops for all ages, Children’s events, Craft Stalls, Real Ale, camping & much more with the ‘Festival Village’ being the centre of events at the Beverley Leisure Complex, HU17 0LT

Many other events take place such as the Festival Film Club and not forgetting the fabulous headliners which in previous years have seen highly acclaimed acts such as: Billy Bragg, Seth Lakeman, Chumbawamba, New Model Army, The Buzzcocks, Eddi Reader, The Proclaimers, Paul Carrack, Barbara Dickson, not to mention 5 times Radio 2 Folk Award Winners Bellowhead!

Beverley  will give you the chance to sample some First Rate music and Fine Ales straight off the Yorkshire Wolds and relax in the shadow of one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in Britain - Beverley’s historic Minster set in one of the most beautiful market towns around.

How to win a slot
It will come as no surprise that Beverley Festival organisers are inundated with requests from all kinds of bands and acts across the UK, all bidding for a much sought after slot at the Yorkshire festival, but spaces are as limited! Therefore they have decided to team up with the Live and Unsigned contest for the first time, to give slots to four Live and Unsigned acts! The lucky winners will be chosen from the Live Showcase Finals, to play a slot at Beverley Festival.

Chris Wade, Artistic Director at the Yorkshire Festival says “We are very much looking forward to seeing the acts at the auditions and the regional finals and are extremely excited that we get to pick those we feel would fit into our festival programme. Whoever we choose, they are sure to have a great time at the festival and will be warmly received by our audiences. Live and Unsigned - like ourselves, offer emerging talent an opportunity to be heard. 

Being in the business for 29 years, it never ceases to amaze us when we hear all the fantastic new talent emerging from our shores, taking to stages and with some going on to win prestigious awards such as Moore Moss and Rutter who formed at our festival and have since won a Radio2 Folk Award. Folk music is becoming fashionable again with acts such as Mumford and Sons appealing to all ages and musical tastes. Our festival has something for everyone and for all ages. Folk is cool and so are festivals, especially those in Yorkshire…. ”.  

Live & Unsigned is the biggest unsigned music competition for original unsigned bands and artists in the UK. It offers the winning act the chance to play at The O2 in London alongside some of the UK's best musicians as well as £100,000 in prizes, including an additional new main cash prize of £10,000 for the winning act to spend on development.

Auditions will begin in January 2012 and all acts in the competition are auditioned live. Acts that make it through the audition stage will get to perform to industry judges, A & R associates and celebrity guests. Judging last year’s competition and hopefully set to join the panel again in 2012 include Radio 1 DJs Annie Nightingale, Ras Kwame, Tom Deacon and Daniel P Carter, Kerrang’s Alex Baker and Happy Mondays star Bez.

If you are interested in playing the best festivals in Yorkshire and beyond in 2012, click here to check out all the festival partners for Live and Unsigned 2012.