The Manx Music Festival, in association with Dandara, is reaching out to new competitors and audiences with the introduction of Rock and Pop Band classes at the 2016 event.

On Tuesday 26th April, the Villa Marina’s Royal Hall will be rocking all night to the sounds of bands playing their own music or covers of their favourite songs. There will be four classes; Own Composition and Covers for under 18 and over 18 age groups. Each band will be given eight minutes of stage time to play one or two songs. If they choose to enter both classes, they could be in the spotlight for up to 20 minutes.

In true ‘Battle of the Bands’ style, the audience will be given the opportunity to vote for their favourite act and the most popular acts in each class will receive a ?100 prize. The evening will be compered by David Cowley, an experienced presenter and champion dancer.

Festival Chairman, Sarah Kelly, said: ‘This is a great opportunity for musicians to play in the iconic Royal Hall with its tremendous acoustic and sophisticated sound system. This will be a battle of the bands to remember and an exciting new development for the festival, attracting new competitors and new audiences.

‘Of course the Festival has always experimented with new and different types of music, dance and drama, and soloists can already sing in the Popular Song classes and the ever-entertaining Songs from the Musicals class. The Manx Competitive Music, Speech and Dance Festival is moving in exciting new directions and we’re very grateful for the support we have from our sponsor, Dandara.’

For more information about the new classes go to www.manxmusicfestival.org.im where you can now enter on line. Entries close on Saturday, 6th February.