Antrim band in with chance of playing Tennent’s Vital

Tennent’s UnTapped is a major new initiative from Tennent’s Lager that gives up and coming musicians based in Northern Ireland the unique opportunity to perform on the main stage at Tennent’s Vital.

The Tennent’s UnTapped judging panel, made up of respected music industry professionals, have listened to more than 250 demos since the call for entries closed on 9th March and the final 16 acts represent some of the most exciting new music in Northern Ireland.

These 16 acts will now go on to play in front of audiences at a series of live showcases in Belfast and Derry-Londonderry in May.

Two of the shortlisted bands will then be chosen to open the Main Stage at Tennent’s Vital 2012 joining either Foo Fighters, The Black Keys and The Minutes on August 21 or The Stone Roses, Florence and The Machine and Rodrigo Y Gabriela on August 22.

Havana House Party are a four piece indie rock band based in Antrim and formed in the late summer of 2010.

They’ve steadily built up a live reputation supporting the likes of A Plastic Rose and General Fiasco and headlining local events in Antrim to crowds of 300 plus.

They’ve recently released their debut EP ‘Demons’.

Aisling Duffy, Marketing Manager for Tennent’s Lager NI, said: “We’ve been so impressed by the standard of entry to Tennent’s UnTapped and are delighted with the strength of our final sixteen – they really reflect what’s going on in Northern Ireland’s grassroots music scene.

“Tennent’s Lager is proud to be supporting these new artists by giving them a platform to perform at the showcases and ultimately to give two bands/artists the chance to share the bill with some of the best international headliners on the planet at Tennent’s Vital.”

One of the judges for Tennent’s UnTapped is Joe Dougan from The Limelight and Shine.

“The final sixteen are a fantastic representation of the best in new Northern Irish music,” Joe said.

He added: “The line up for the showcases is looking really strong, with a great musical variety and lots of different genres and I can’t wait to see which bands will make it through to play Tennent’s Vital”.

For more information about Tennent’s UnTapped please visit: tennentsvital.com/untapped and facebook.com/tennentslagerni