Maeve Fitzpatrick, a 16-year old from Brixton is through to the finals of the Mayor of London’s busking competition.
Of the 1,700 people who applied, about 40 were selected to perform in ‘iconic sites’ all round London in the build-up to the final.
Judges whittled the number down to 15 finalists across three categories. A sixth performer for each category will be chosen via an audience vote – which is open until Monday 28 August.
Maeve is competing in the Soloists & Duos category and was up against 32 other competitors looking to be crowned winners of the same category at the semi-final stage.
Maeve says: “I’m a 16-year-old pop/jazz singer. I won a ‘Bay Factor’ singing competition while on holiday in Herne Bay and that gave me a chance to sing in all sorts of places – on the pier, in record stores, at parties, at Brixton Ritzy’s Open Mic. I won my school’s Popfest and I recently auditioned at The Dairy Recording Studios in Brixton, where I live, as someone sent in a video of me singing in a local do at a church hall.”
The competition was launched by Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler. An industry panel of music professionals selected five acts to perform at the Grand Final in three categories – soloists and duos (aged 16-25), youth (aged 11-15) and open (aged 11-25 with up to eight members).
The Grand Final is at Westfield London (Shepherd’s Bush) in the Atrium, from 12-6 on Sunday 3 September (Ariel Way, Shepherd’s Bush, London W12 7GF)
Organisers say: “Each performer has two chances to stun the judges on the day of the competition, all contestants will be judged on the following criteria – Musicality, Technique & Performance. The judging panel consists of Tim Fraser & Rita Campbell, who are experienced performers, songwriters and mentors, and have worked with a range of artists from Tina Turner to Steps and many more.”
Prizes include, a London Underground busking licence, studio time and busking equipment, they will be awarded by the judges to the top three acts, one of these acts will then be named Gigs Champion 2017.
All finalists will be considered for the judges’ discretionary prizes, which include a bespoke training package at The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance and the much-coveted Eurostar busking trip to Paris!
