Bands sign up for Shropshire's Next Big Thing

More than 20 bands have already entered a contest to find Shropshire's best unsigned talent in a bid to win a slot in front of up to 10,000 fans on the Shrewsbury Fields Forever festival.

The Shropshire Star's talent search – called Shropshire's Next Big Thing – was launched on Wednesday, and led to a flurry of entries. Event organiser Andy Richardson said: "We've received a very high number in a very short space of time and the standard is exceptional.

"We know there are still plenty of great bands out there – like Fight The Bear, Madison, The Yipes, Blues Boy Dan, Decadence In Berlin and Hill Valley High – and we'd like to hear from them too."

Entries so far include Fight The Dice, Arcade Parade, Thin Vision, For Thieves, Plastic Empire, Needle Poppets, Portlights, The Jelly Soldiers, The Making, Albert Jones, The Nuclear Weasels, Subtheme, Bing the Rope, Son Of Zebedee, Steve Millington and Anton Miller, Loose Lips, Judas Johnson, David Busby, The Kooz, Someone Else, Ridolfi, Misty Blue Trio and Twisted Species.

A shortlist will be drawn up and bands will play a series of heats at The Ironworks, at Oswestry, on June 16: The Haygate, at Wellington, on June 23: The Hive, at Shrewsbury, on June 30 and The Assembly Rooms, in Ludlow, on July 8.

The first placed band will appear at the Shrewsbury Fields Forever Festival in September and also win a video shoot and a photographic shoot.

They will also feature on BBC Radio Shropshire.

How to enter

Competition organiser Andy Richardson said bands should send their entries to the Shropshire Star immediately, to stand a chance of playing – groups who have featured in three earlier Shropshire Star Battle of the Bands competitions are eligible to enter.

He said: "We want bands to email us right away with links to their music, or mp3s and photographs for us to listen to and look at.

"We know that there are a great many exceptional bands and we want them to get in touch. Groups who have entered previous contests – like Madison, The Yipes, Blues Boy Dan, Decadence In Berlin and Hill Valley High – set very high standards and we hope to hear from them again.

"We're committed to promoting the best in local music and want as many bands as possible to contact us. This is a genuine opportunity for bands to take a big step forward in their careers."

The bands will line up for a series of heats planned for The Ironworks, at Oswestry, on June 16: The Haygate, at Wellington, on June 23: The Hive, at Shrewsbury, on June 30 and The Assembly Rooms, in Ludlow, on July 8.

A winning band from each heat will earn a place in the July 22 final – and there will also be one band voted into the final by readers of the Shropshire Star in an online poll.

Bands can send an email with links to their MySpace pages, websites or can send mp3s, jpegs and biographies to arichardson@shropshirestar.co.uk.

MNA employees and their relatives are not eligible to enter. There is no cash alternative to the prize, the Editor's decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.