Victory gig at High Barn

TWO rock competition winners are coming together for a victory gig at High Barn on Friday (July 17).

Ed Hope & Friends come up against The Strangerhood at the Great Bardfield venue from 8pm.

Winners of the Cambridge Battle of the Bands 2009, Ed Hope & Friends deliver fragile, simple toe-tapping acoustic folk. Despite being the only folk band on a bill of rock artists, they won over the judges simply by the strength of their repertoire.

The band write sunny songs that tell stories about such things as boats, barn dances, love at the funfair, summer time in the woodlands and, of course, rock and roll.

The Strangerhood are the recent overall winners of the first Rhodes Rock Contest at the Rhodes Arts Complex in Bishop's Stortford. Their music is radically different from any other band that entered the contest and they won the praise of the judges for their originality and song-writing.

The four-piece, self-styled 'experimental dirtyacousticsynthnoiserock' outfit have played a huge amount of gigs over the past year and built up a sizeable local following with diverse styles and intense delivery. Influences range from Radiohead, Pink Floyd, Tom Waits and Bj�rk.

The two bands on the bill are very different musically but compliment each other with their influences and originality.

As winners of two prestigious band competitions this year, the audience are guaranteed an evening of musical brilliance and entertainment. The night promises diversity and quality, and is sure to be an unforgettable experience.

For more details on the bands visit www.myspace.com/lastoftheromantics and www.myspace.com/strangerhoodmusic

Tickets are available now from the High Barn website at www.high-barn.com/events