Rock The World(Bar) Band Competition

From April, the esteemed World Bar known for its thriving party atmosphere, will welcome some brand new, young and upcoming talent into their halls.

With the event only recently being announced, the response has been incredible with over 20 bands already signed up to showcase their talents. Competition director Denny Burgess was very enthusiastic when speaking about the response. “In this day and age with all of the restrictions, it’s hard to get the venues for starters, then it’s hard to get the bands for one reason or another, but this time the bands have responded absolutely incredibly.”

As a former musician himself as part of the Masters Apprentices, Burgess was extremely passionate and driven to help give something back to the industry and help young bands gain some exposure. “As an old muso (sic) myself, I know how hard it is for bands to make it playing original music. It’s like beating your head against a brick wall at times. So we love putting on these types of events to give young bands some exposure and a chance to perform and play to decent crowds.”

In regards to judging the competition, audience participation is not just recommended. It is in fact crucial during the heats as these will be decided purely by an audience vote. The semi-finals and finals will welcome aboard a judging panel of industry professionals to decide the winners of the following prizes:

• 1st Prize: Paid gig at MUM (The World Bars Friday Night Event) and a feature article by Music NSW
• 2nd Prize: Performance slot at UBERfest
• 3rd Prize: Photo shoot with Stone Photography

Looking ahead the goal of the competition, the planning committee is hoping to see this concept become an annual event so that “it builds a reputation and so bands that win get a real boost out of it to go play more professional gigs”, said Burgess.

One of this year’s entrants is a young local band known as RYSE that have been together for around a year. “We’re basically just a bunch of friends playing music and taking inspiration from Muse, Arctic Monkeys and Tool while using lots of different sounds effects and soundscapes to create something that people have never heard before. With the competition being at such a cool venue we thought it looked like a lot of fun so we signed up straight away.” said Brendan Greene.

Currently, there a still a limited number of slots available in the heats for any other bands that would like to get involved.

Weekly From Apr 2, The World Bar, 24 Bayswater Road, Kings Cross, $15, facebook.com/burgessbookings