Top young musicians to set to play latest Amex Gold Unsigned
This month sees big finale of the hotly anticipated Amex Gold Unsigned initiative, which will showcase a host of talented young musicians who will be rewarded with a slot at some of the UK’s biggest festivals.
On 30 November Unsigned will host a showcase event at The Dome in Tuffnel Park – a stage that has hosted The White Stripes, Florence and The Machine, Turnstile and Blur – with The Street’s Mike Skinner on DJ duties. The six acts have been chosen by a panel of industry experts, including NME, Mixmag, GUAP and Epidemic Sound. The showcased acts will also receive a professional mentoring programme, helping them get a leg up in the hyper competitive music business.
Unsigned is designed to help find hot new talent as well as shining a spotlight on grassroots music venues, which have struggled in the wake of Covid and the cost of living crisis. As well as running events at The Dome, Unsigned has put in place improvements, from updating the sound system to a brand new paint job.
Amex Gold Unsigned 2022 finalist Ben Kidson said: “As a musician in London, you’re part of a huge group. Going to gigs most weeks and seeing the talent, it would be easy to lose faith in yourself. Being picked as one of the Amex Gold Unsigned artists for 2022 is the support that every artist needs, an opportunity to get your music out there, and a reminder that what you’re doing is important, and worth continuing.
“Shortly after Amex Gold Unsigned 2022, I was signed to Wolves records – the A+Rs at the label were at the show last year – and played my song Joking to 30,000 people at Molineux during a Premier League game. Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin sits on the board there; he heard my songs and came to my signing to tell me he was a fan.”