Sunderland band set to play at major North East venue after winning competition

A Sunderland band have hit the night note to secure a place on the main stage of a major North East venue.
Sunderland band Thieves of Liberty.Sunderland band Thieves of Liberty.
Sunderland band Thieves of Liberty.

Thieves of Liberty saw off tough competition from a range of acts from across the region at a battle of the bands competition at the O2 Academy in Newcastle.

The competition was part of Fireball’s Fuelling the Fire Tour 2018, which saw regional artists perform on the smaller stage of the venue in the hopes of winning the chance to play on the main stage.

Thieves of Liberty have won a battle of the bands competition.Thieves of Liberty have won a battle of the bands competition.
Thieves of Liberty have won a battle of the bands competition.
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Thieves of Liberty - made up of guitarist Kieran Wilson, bass player Simeon Robson, 27, singer Lidya Ballaban, 18, and drummer Connor Henderson, 22, - were picked by judges as the winning band after performing a range of their own songs.

They will now be playing on the main stage of the O2 Academy on Thursday, December 6.Lead guitarist Kieran Wilson, 20, from Seaham, said the band were delighted to win the opportunity.

The Sunderland University music student said: “We performed in the battle of the bands competition on Wednesday, September 5, and there were eight other bands competing - five from Newcastle and three from Glasgow.

“We were the only ones from Sunderland and on the night we performed a 15 minute set in front of a panel of judges and who were from Jack Daniels Fireball Tour, Kerrang and the O2 Academy.

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“On the night the winners were announced and we were picked along with a winner from Glasgow, to play on Thursday, December 6.

“We are all really excited about it as it is a big deal.

“Then if we’re the judged to be the best band out of the 10 nationwide tour dates, we get crowned as Fireball’s Hottest Band 2019, and we’ll be playing the whole tour next year!”

At the event the band played all of their own material, including their single Wearing You Out.They now plan to release their own album by the end of this year.

And the up-and-coming band has also booked a headline gig at the Head of Steam in Newcastle on Friday, December 21, thanks to their success in winning the Fireball slot.

Just this summer the band wowed an audience of thousands at the Camden Rocks Festival, back in June.

The band secured a spot after wining a national competition, seeing off nearly 20,000 other acts.