IGS MUSIC SHOWCASE
Battle of the Bands
Kings Hall, Ilkley on Wed 6 November 2024
The IGS Music Showcase took place on Wednesday 6 November 2024 at the King’s Hall. This amazing opportunity was first put to me by Rachel Dennison (from the Friends of King’s Hall and Winter Gardens) in February 2023 with her wish of giving IGS pupils the experience of performing at this prestigious venue. This was music to my ears and subsequently led to the first IGS Music Showcase in November later that year, which was a great success. Off the back of that we returned to the King’s Hall for the second year running last week. The audience were treated to a fantastic showcase of supreme musical talent featuring over 120 IGS pupils across the range of musical acts, which included rock bands, Jazz Band, Music Theatre Club, Pop Choir, Drumline and Y12 Chamber Group. Toby (Y12) was the wonderful host for the evening this year. It turned out to be an incredibly special evening with every single pupil rising to the challenge to deliver phenomenal performances! All the pupils that took part should feel very proud of themselves as they were consistently fantastic in rehearsals and the final performance, well done all!
Battle of the Bands
The centrepiece for the concert was the IGS Battle of the Bands, which is now in its 3rd year. 11 bands were competing to be crowned the winners, and the bands were:
| Okumay | A Certain Romance by The Artic Monkeys | Y13 & Y8 |
| Distortion | Live Forever by Oasis | Y9 |
| Suspended | Song 2 by Blur | Y8 |
| Deadline | The Loneliest by Måneskin | Y10 & Y12 |
| Hyperfixation | Hell song by Sum 41 | Y7 |
| The Argument | Creep by Radiohead | Y10 & Y11 |
| Ayrborne | Sweet Child ‘o’ mine by Guns 'n' Roses | Y9 |
| J.T.M.S | I’m Still Standing by Elton John | Y12 |
| DukTape | Morbid (original by DukTape) | Y11 & Y13 |
| Big C.A.T.S. | Viva La Vida by Coldplay | Y8 |
| The unnamed | Snap out of it by The Artic Monkeys | Y12 7 Y13 |
The judges were Toby (from Futuresound, Leeds) and Andy (from Ilkley Round Table). The standard was incredibly high with the judges commenting on how incredibly difficult it was to choose a top 3, let alone the winner!
- In 3rd place came The Argument with a great cover version full of beautiful vocal harmonies of Creep by Radiohead.
- In 2nd place was Ayrborne with a commanding performance of Sweet Child ‘O’ Mine by Guns ‘n’ Roses.
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In 1st place and this year’s winners of the IGS Battle of the Bands was DukTape with their scintillating performance of their own original song, Morbid.
- DukTape will now go forward to represent IGS at the Red Kite Battle of the Bands on Thursday 23 January 2025 at the Wardrobe, Leeds.
Thanks for such an amazing experience
Thanks must go to all of the performers, the pupil backstage team (led by Dylan), the photographers (Rory & Alfie), the host (Toby), IGS staff that helped behind the scenes (too many to name here), the judges (Toby and Andy), the King’s Hall Tech team (Andy, Joe and Nick), King’s Hall Front of House team and the wonderful audience for making this event a massive success. Last but not least our thanks go to Rachel and the rest of the Friends of King’s Hall and Winter Gardens for providing this amazing opportunity for IGS pupils to experience performing in such a wonderful venue supported by wonderful, professional staff. We hope to be back next year for the 3rd IGS Music Showcase!
Nicholas Peters | Teacher of Music
Here's what some of our students had to say of their experience:
Being part of the concert at the King’s Hall last night was such a such a special experience. The evening had such a great atmosphere and I loved listening to the incredible other IGS musicians play, in such a wonderful venue. I’m really grateful to have had the opportunity to play as part of a chamber group to a large audience, and feel part of the supportive IGS music community. Thank you to everyone who made it possible! (Xanthe Y12)
I found it really heartwarming to see everyone coming together to perform music and how it didn’t matter if you were in a band or any other event, everyone was so supportive to everyone else. (Finlay Y13)
It was a fun experience for lots of creative people to show off what they do best to a supportive set of peers and a great audience. Especially nice to see the younger groups get out there in front of such an audience and seize the unique opportunity. The diversity of talent on display was really great. (Edward Y13)
The atmosphere was incredible with everyone supporting absolutely everyone regardless of year group or the competition. All crew were extremely helpful making sure everything ran smoothly and almost completely flawlessly. The opportunity to play in a professional venue was a unique and incredible chance. (Rose Y11)
I loved going backstage and seeing the entirety of The Kings Hall. Performing in front of hundreds of people was epic to say the least and overall, that night was magnificent! Definitely going back next year. (Max Y7)
When I first stepped into the King’s Hall for the soundchecks and a few rehearsals, I was quite nervous but, when the concert eventually came around, it looked amazing. Everyone was so excited and happy to be there, everything looked amazing and when I performed and watched everyone else perform, it was nothing but brilliant. (Saskia Y8)
I really enjoyed taking part in the event at The Kings Hall because it gave me the opportunity to experience the buzz of performing live in such an iconic venue. It is amazing to think that I have performed on the same stage as other great musicians! I also loved the supportive atmosphere backstage. (Astrid Y8)
I enjoyed singing in the choir on stage,and watching the battle of the bands contestants perform.
For me the best part of school is getting to perform and I’m so glad I’m in the choir. (Lola Y9)
I loved the adrenaline that performing on that stage gave me, as well as the confidence it gave me. (Sam Y11)
What I really enjoyed about the concert at the King's Hall last night was seeing all of the different bands competing on the King's Hall stage. I also enjoyed having the opportunity to go up onto the stage and to see how all of the audience enjoyed the whole night. I will hope to be able to participate next year! (Kiki Y7)
I enjoyed all of the preparation and rehearsals for the concert. I also massively enjoyed being on stage with all the fun lights and music on whilst we sang. Furthermore, I loved taking part in the show because I found it really fun doing it with everyone from choir and how the band was playing behind us. Overall, I loved taking part in the concert at King’s Hall and would love to do it again! (Amelia Y7)
It was such a great opportunity that I will definitely remember. The Kings Hall is such a beautiful place to perform and I am so honoured and proud that we got to perform on it. It was an amazing experience performing in front of such a big audience. I am so grateful that we were able to perform at King’s Hall. (Layla-Rae Y8)
I enjoyed performing on stage with my band when everyone was cheering us on. I loved the atmosphere! I really enjoyed cheering on all the different bands and chatting to the others band members both in our year and in other years! I also really enjoyed singing we will rock you and playing for drumline/samba band. (Sophie Y8)
I really liked how professional it was. I also really love performing to a bigger audience as well. It was very organised and such a fun environment. (Amelia Y9)
