This fundraiser is now closed. Nonclassical would like to thank everyone who generously donated to Battle of the Bands – thanks to your support, we are able to provide higher honorariums and more opportunities to the 2023 finalists.

If you’d like to donate to Nonclassical and support our wider mission, click here.

Nonclassical Battle of the Bands

CHAMPIONING THE UNUSUAL, THE UNORTHODOX AND THE UNHEARD

Your chance to fund our project for emerging performers and be part of one of the most thrilling contemporary music evenings of the year. We need your help to expand this opportunity with broader and deeper professional development.

What is Battle of the Bands?

Now in its 15th year, Battle of the Bands is our annual extravaganza showcasing exciting new voices in the new music scene. We give a platform to innovative performers to experiment on stage for a friendly crowd and expert industry panel. This year, we want to make a deeper impact on our performers with a number of professional development opportunities.

2023’s panel includes Alan Davey (Controller, BBC Radio 3), Nwando Ebizie (interdisciplinary artist), and Toks Dada (Head of Classical Music, Southbank Centre) alongside Nonclassical’s Artistic Direct Gabriel Prokofiev and Executive Director Natalia Franklin Pierce.

Clockwise from left: Héloïse Werner, James McIlwrath, Reylon Yount

Making a difference

Many contemporary visionaries have competed in past iterations of the event, including Heloise Werner and The Hermes Experiment, Tangram Sound, and Andy Ingamells.

“Nonclassical definitely played an important role in our artistic development.” – Héloïse Werner, The Hermes Experiment (winners, 2014)

“It was really great to be financially supported to work on a new live performance through winning the Battle of the Bands. It’s such a valuable opportunity for me as an artist not based in London to be given a platform to show my work to London audiences.” – James McIlwrath (winner, 2020)

“As a Chinese American yangqin player, the first gig in the city where I felt like I was being my full self as an artist was at nonclassical’s Battle of the Bands in 2019, where I performed Alex Ho’s “Rituals and Resonances.” The experience of winning, having the track featured on Outside the Lines, and playing my first solo set of original music at a nonclassical night gave me the confidence at an early stage to trust my own path. The open-minded reception from nonclassical’s unique audience counteracted my impulses to conform or reduce my artistic identity.” – Reylon Yount (winner, 2019)

New this year

This year we want to offer our finalists extra support with higher fees, artistic and professional development sessions, and videos and photos they can use to promote their music.

The ask

We need your help – it will cost us £8000 to run this year. We’ve already fundraised for part of this, but we still need £5000 to expand the scheme to support these bright new stars.

Where the money’s going

We believe in transparency, so we’ve broken down how your money will be spent. If you have any questions about this, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!

Find out more

£4000 in artistic fees and expenses
Last year we supported 19 artists with honorarium fees and expenses for their performances. Help us do better – we’re aiming to pay professional fees and expenses for our artists and our panel in 2023.
£2000 in staff time and overheads
We’re a small and efficient team of 4 part time staff at Nonclassical, however Battle of the Bands requires a great deal of time and thought in order to make it the amazing event that it is. This money enables us to do things properly, from our open call, selection process and managing feedback to applicants to putting on a great event, coordinating follow up sessions and more.
£1500 in artist and professional development
For professional videography and photography at the event and developmental seminars relating to the industry for all of our finalists.
£500 in production costs
The nuts and bolts of any event, including venue and equipment hire!