The second annual Battle of the Bands event saw nine student bands battle it out in a professional live environment in front of their peers and a judging panel that included Jude Abbott from Chumbawamba, on Sunday 15 July.
Horbury High's group Uneven Symmetry were crowned the winners of 'Best Original Song' and St Wilfrids' group Mongoose in the Pumphouse won 'Best Performance'. The bands won a prize trophy, a tour of the LS-Live rehearsal studios and one of the company's stage hire packages for the school.
Both bands were overjoyed to win the competition, which has now become a coveted annual police and partner lead event. Sgt Alan Studd from Pontefract & Knottingley police said, "The location of this year's event blew everyone away, the sound and lighting and atmosphere was incredible.
"We were over the moon to be able to give our local young people the chance to perform in the same venue as their idols."
Backstage Academy students on the Foundation Degree in Live Events Production planned and executed the entire event, from the initial layout and visual concepts to mixing the audio and lighting.
The performances took place in LS-Live's arena-sized studio, with a backstage hub for the bands in the catering area, interviews for the event DVD in the production offices and a VIP space on the viewing balcony and in the green room.
Said Backstage Academy sales & business development manager Sara Gleadhall, "We were very pleased to be able to provide a platform for the Police to engage with young people and nurture their musical talent. The bands seemed to be very inspired by the environment of the LS-Live studios and probably felt like rockstars for the day!
"The event was also a great opportunity for our students at Backstage Academy to put their skills into practice and produce a live event from start to finish."
The event raised just under £1,300 for Yorkshire Cancer Research and Alzeimer's Society.
(Jim Evans)
