Lovely Laura added to Sunniside Live line-up + Battle of the Bands search launched

It's been announced that the saxophonist and vocalist has been added to the Friday night line-up for the festival, which returns to Sunniside Gardens on July 6 and 7.

Laura, a regular on the stages of Ibiza's super clubs, has been added to the previously announced line-up for the two-day festival, which includes The Lightning Seeds, Soul II Soul, Reverend and the Makers, Cast and The Bluetones.

Emerging acts are also being given the chance to take to the stage with Sunniside Live’s Battle of the Band competition.

Matty Smith, lead vocals from Social Room who won the first Battle of the Bands at Sunniside Live 2015 who have since went on to secure a record deal, said: “It was a great opportunity to play at the battle of the bands and have a chance to play at Sunniside Live. We had a great night and the place was packed. The gig opened up a lot of doors for us and gave us a

chance to showcase our music on a big stage in front of a massive crowd.”

Event organiser, Helen Davies, who also runs Bar Justice and Gin & Bear It in Sunderland, said: “This is an opportunity for up-and-coming acts to hit the stage in front of more than 4000

music lovers and share the bill with some of the industry’s finest artists.

“We have been inundated with acts wanting a chance to perform at this year’s festival. We couldn’t possibly have chosen out of them all so we instead decided to let the public decide.”

The competition is open to solo performers and bands of all genres, featuring up to eight members - though all participants must be at least 16 years of age.

Applicants can apply now at www.sunnisidelive.co.uk and entries must be submitted with a video clip of a previous performance by Sunday April 22.

All submissions will be uploaded to Sunniside Live’s website, where a public vote will run from April 23 to June 1.

The following day, on June 2, the overall winner will be announced and they will open Sunniside Live on Saturday July 7.