A song contest happening this weekend is hoping to raise thousands for The Whitechapel Centre

Liverpool’s exciting new charity song contest, Primal Live, is preparing for its next huge event.

Following the overwhelming success of its debut event at Camp & Furnace in July, the interactive battle of the bands show will return to the Baltic venue on Sunday 6th October.

The first Primal Live event featured 25 talented local acts performing on stage and competing for top prizes whilst raising over £4,000 for The Whitechapel Centre. After interactive audience voting and expert judging from The Voice UK’s Jake O’Neill and SAE Institute’s Duncan Lewis, the winners on the night were Ava Fitz and OTB.

The Whitechapel Centre — Credit: Primal Live

Over 200 applications have been received so far for the next event at Camp & Furnace . Selected musicians will be taken on a 7-week artist development course from industry experts before competing on the night. There will be 6 heats of 6 acts and the audience will vote for finalists before expert judges decide the winners.

As a spectacle, Primal Live is a really fun and interactive event for the audience — with quality live music, a party atmosphere and a chance to influence the results of the contest. With it being a charity initiative, there’s a chance to win top prizes through raffles and auctions too. The second event has already increased from 25 acts to 36 and it appears the concept has a big future ahead.

Primal Live’s Andy Sampson said:

“Our first event surpassed all expectations. The audience had an amazing time, the artists excelled themselves and we raised over £4,000 for the homeless of Liverpool. But the key thing that came from it is that it became a project rather than just a song contest or event — the feedback has been incredible and so many people are now involved.”

“This second event is going to be even bigger and better — with 36 artists and a full afternoon of music. We have one of the first event’s artists, Jordan aka OTB, on the team now and SAE Institute’s Duncan Lewis again, so this time we’ll be offering even more artist development along the way. This isn’t just a gig for artists — we will be giving them the tools to take themselves to the next level.”

The first event saw all artists benefit, whilst winner Ava Fitz won recording studio time and a place on Duncan Lewis’ Songwriting Retreat. This next huge event at Camp & Furnace aims to once again provide local talent with a platform, whilst entertaining the audience and raising thousands for The Whitechapel Centre — with even bigger plans following this.

Jordan Francis, aka OTB, summarised:

The first event was such a success and great for all involved. Some of the talent on that stage was unreal and I’m honoured to have been part of it. The fact that I was homeless makes it even more special as it’s great to give back to The Whitechapel Centre. Now to be part of the Primal Live team is amazing and I’m looking forward to helping develop the next wave of local talent.”