Hey, Kids, Rock’n’Roll…

It had all the rock’n’roll ingredients that you would ever need for a kick-ass Battle of The Bands…

Shiny, clappy people in the audience, roadies showing off their Y-front labels, amps cranked up to 11, and mums watching nervously in the wings…

Yep, this year’s Stepping Stones live showcase down at The Whale had everything you’d want, and more. Especially when it came to the music.

The afternoon opened beautifully with GG fave Emily Beattie, throwing us all a loop or five, as she planted layer upon layer of guitars and samples over which her tentative, sensitive vocal made for one highly hypnotic performance.

Another refugee act from last year’s Stepping Stones took to the stage next, indolent duo Lauren McBride and Sam Cox having spent the last 12 months doing, by their own admission, something close to nothing. Which, bizarrely, seems to make their music together even sweeter. The Blue Nile would be proud.

Having arrived late to the party, Ben Rowsome and Nathan Flanagan – aka, Hail & Rain – were quick to jump into the lead last week when it came to the public vote. And today, it wasn’t difficult to see why, as the two school friends displayed the kind of confidence that comes with having an album planned for June, and a second already in the works. 

Yowsa!

Kicking out the jams after three acoustic-based performances, the mighty power trio Blush fair lit up the room with a sound that was part CBGBs New Wave, part old Cream, and part unbridled cockiness. Man, they were good.

With two of this year’s contestants, feline folkie Margarita Chernikova and hard-ass metal heads Jet Fuel Chemistry, unable to make it on the day, the Stepping Stones showcase wrapped up with Laoise Macken. Who just happens to be the sister of Jet Fuel Chemistry‘s lead singer, Lorcan.

Man, there must be something in the Lorcan water, as Laoise delivered the kind of searing, soaring vocal that could make a bishop put his foot through a stained glass window. Stunning.

And with that, the showcase was over, with just the special treat of last year’s winners, Feuds, taking to the stage to show everyone what winning looks and sounds like. Turns out, it looks and sounds pretty darn good, as anyone who has picked up a copy of the band’s new self-titled EP will tell you. Go get it here. Now.

You can check out all of this year’s entries here, and vote for your favourite in the comments section. We’ll be announcing the Judges’ winner and the public vote winner next weekend. Voting closes on Friday, March 30th.

In the meantime, hey, Meet The Rockers…

You can still vote for your favourite right about here. Until Friday, March 30th, at midnight, that is.