Tennent’s and their panel of industry judges are looking for the best new talent in Scotland and want to hear from Scotland’s freshest unsigned musical artists, as well as aspiring music journalists and photographers.
T Break has been working with new Scottish talent since 1996 and is now an established and well-respected highlight of the Scottish Musical Calendar. T Break is a Tennent’s Lager initiative which over the past decade has worked to support thousands of aspiring musicians including cult-heroes Biffy Clyro, The Cinematics and Island Records hottest new signing Attic Lights all of whom regularly acknowledge the support from T Break as they worked to launch their career, facilitating introductions to music scenesters and fans nationwide.
T Break is open to any unsigned musical act resident in Scotland, provided they are over the age of 18, and performing original material.
All entrants should visit www.tbreak.co.uk for full details on how to submit their work. Musicians will be invited to upload their demos via the website ( or alternatively they will find instruction on how to make a postal submission.) The deadline for submissions is 28th March 2008
All submissions will be heard by the T Break judging panel, made up of representatives from our partners at DF concerts, Radio 1, PRS, HMV and Sunday Herald.
The best 48 will then be invited to play the T Break Showcases which take place at Edinburgh’s Liquidroom 4-7 May and Glasgow’s King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut 11-14 May where the panel will expand to include A&R representatives and other key music industry members. 16 bands will then be invited to play on the T Break Stage at T in the Park on July 11,12 & 13th.
Journalism and Photography entries are judged by our partner’s the Sunday Herald, with the overall winners given the opportunity to attend T in the Park as the official T Break Stage review team. Their work from the weekend will then feature in a special Sunday Herald feature. Journalists and photographers can download an application form and will find further details on how to submit their work on www.tbreak.co.uk
George Kyle, Head of Sponsorship at Tennent’s says; ‘We’re looking forward to hearing from Scotland’s freshest unsigned talent again this year. The talent pool surpasses itself year on year in terms of both quality and quantity, and we’re incredibly passionate about raising the profile of our thriving grassroots scene. We can’t wait to revel in the freshest new talent in Scotland with the T Break audiences this year at the showcases and celebrated T Break Stage at T in the Park.’
Dave McGeachan of DF Concerts adds; ‘Over the last couple of years we have seen acts such as Paolo Nutini and Amy MacDonald make the transition from playing the T Break stage to Main Stage, which pretty much speaks for itself. We’re spoilt for choice with talent in Scotland and it’s always great to witness bands progress after being given a platform at T Break. I’m looking forward to this year’s showcases and being involved with the initiative once again.’
Vic Galloway of Radio 1 in Scotland continues; ‘I'm lucky that I've been involved with T Break for a good few years, and it remains a highlight in the diary for young, aspiring bands in Scotland. I've watched it grow in prestige and stature every year and the tent itself definitely has a higher profile than ever before. Bands know that playing T in the Park is a chance to have a great weekend and be seen alongside globally successful artists by friends, family and music industry insiders. The whole process of listening to the bands, attending the showcase gigs and seeing the ultimate selection is also another great opportunity for myself and the T Break panel to come across bands we've not seen before.’
And Jason Legg, of HMV-T Break’s new retail partner is delighted to be on board with the initiative; ‘HMV are addicted to getting people closer to music and T Break has an unrivalled history of breaking fresh new talent which we are more than happy to help support in our Scottish stores.'
Full details on T Break are available on the T Break website www.tbreak.co.uk Following on from 2007, we will be accepting demos online in an entry process which allows bands to upload their demos and details simply via the website. The site also features information on the Scottish music scene in general with articles and podcasts featuring advice from industry insiders on making the most of your talent.
T Break History
T Break has been supporting new Scottish Talent since 1996 and is now an established and well-respected highlight of the Scottish Musical Calendar. T Break is a Tennent’s Lager initiative which supports Scottish music at grassroots level and gives up and coming unsigned talent an opportunity to play in front of a wide cross section of music industry judges, A&R representatives, and dedicated music fans.
2007 built on the success of previous years with over 1000 demos received. 48 acts were then invited to showcase at sell-out gigs at Glasgow’s King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut and Edinburgh’s Liquidroom. Of these, 12 bands were given the opportunity to play at the UK’s number one music festival- T in the Park, with an additional 4 playing to T in the Park campers as the site opened on Friday night for the first time in the event’s history. 8 T Break journalists and photographers were also invited to cover the showcases for the Sunday Herald with 2 being given the chance to be official event media for the T Break Stage at T in the Park, with their coverage appearing once again in the Sunday Herald.
Since 1996, the best unisigned artists in Scotland have been dazzling us with their demos, with some now familiar names having played the showcases. Bands like Biffy Clyro, The Cinematics, Lizard King’s ‘Drive-By Argument’ and Island’s hottest new signing ‘Attic Lights’ (to name a small few) all came through T Break, and the talent continues to impress judges and audiences alike.
Over the past few years, developments to T Break have seen the inclusion of a T Break specific artist area at T in the Park and the launch of a CD sampler, retailed UK wide featuring the 12 artists that play the T Break Stage at T in the Park. The new look T Break website was launched in 2005 and now features advice from industry experts, a podcast series, as well as news on T Break and the music industry in Scotland.
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