Red Kite Battle of The Bands supported by Launchpad
Posted 11th February 2025
Young people from 12 secondary schools from across Leeds that belong to the Red Kite Alliance took part in the 2nd Red Kite Battle of the Bands on Thursday 23rd January 2025 at The Wardrobe, supported by Launchpad. All 12 bands performed in front of a sold-out capacity crowd with the hope of being crowned Red Kite Battle of the Bands Champions 2025. The young performers had been preparing for this night since September, with many schools hosting their own heats to select bands for the final and so there was a lot of excitement in the air amongst the bands in the lead up to this highly coveted event.
The Red Kite Battle of the Bands is supported by Music Local’s Launchpad Futures initiative, with schools being offered workshops on music career pathways by Launchpad’s Youth Progression Coordinator Satnam Galsian. On the day, all 12 performing groups received individual mentoring / advice sessions from the Launchpad team. The performances were judged by a panel of Launchpad Industry advisors Simon Rix (bass player, Kaiser Chiefs), Sally Bryant (artist manager, Dance To The Radio) alongside Satnam Galsian (Music:Leeds / Launchpad). The prize for the winning band is a recording session in Leeds Beckett University’s state of the art School of Arts building with a leading young producer, a performance slot at the Chapel Allerton Music Festival, the Red Kite Battle of the Bands Trophy and a headline set at the event next year in 2026.
The final showdown featured an impressive lineup with bands delivering a string of performances to an exceptionally high standard. The evening featured a mixture of covers and original songs:
- The Accidentals (Benton Park) performed ‘Feeling Good’ (Muse version)
- Set List (Allerton Grange) performed ‘When the Sun Goes Down’ by Arctic Monkeys
- Lack of Commitment (Guiseley) performed ‘Get Lucky’ by Daft Punk
- Imaginary Husband (Prince Henry’s Grammar) performed ‘Snow Day’ by Shame
- Madcaps (South Craven) performed ‘All Caps’ by MF Doom
- Lost in the Dark (Lawnswood) performed ‘The Trooper’ by Iron Maiden
- Smokin’ Keys and the Coolers (Crawshaw) performed ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On’ By Jerry Lee Lewis
- Where There’s a Will There’s a Way (Pudsey Grammar) performed Sk8er Boy by Avril Lavigne
- DukTape (Ilkley Grammar) performed their original song ‘Brain Drain’
- Idiots Republic (Ralph Thoresby) performed ‘Dancing Shoes’ by Arctic Monkeys
- Vertigo (Temple Moor) performed their original song ‘Conscription’
- The 4 R’s (Roundhay) performed ‘Everlong’ by Foo Fighters
While the judges deliberated the audience was treated to a superb headline set by last year’s winners from Allerton Grange, Yacht Club. Every band was supported by friends, family and members of staff and the venue was packed out with everyone enjoying the atmosphere and cheering on the young performers. There was a huge range of talent on display.
Every performer had the opportunity of a lifetime to showcase their talent on a professional stage. It was the band ‘Vertigo’ (Temple Moor School), performing their own song Conscription, who were crowned the Red Kite Battle of the Bands Champions 2025, having previously come third in last year’s competition. In hot pursuit in 2nd place were Lost in the Dark (Lawnswood) with The Accidentals (Benton Park) and Madcaps (South Craven) in joint 3rd place. There was a huge amount of talent on display from across all the schools and the hotly coveted event will return for the 3rd year in January 2026, which will be headlined by this year’s champions, Vertigo. It is exciting to think of what talent is waiting in the wings, ready to represent their school next year.
This fantastic event was conceived, planned and delivered by Nick Peters, Music Teacher at Ilkley Grammar School with support from the Head of Creative Arts at IGS, Jess Pymar. Special thanks to Sam Nicholls (Music:Leeds/Launchpad), Satnam Galsian and the rest of the Launchpad team and judges for the outstanding support that they provided for this event. A shout out too to the Ilkley Grammar School student backstage team (Francis, Zac, Dylan and Niamh) who worked with staff at the Wardrobe to deliver the event. A huge thanks as well to all the dedicated members of staff and students from the participating schools for making the Red Kite Battle of the Bands 2025 an enjoyable and memorable event. Finally, thanks to the incredible staff and sound team at the Wardrobe who ensured that the event had a truly professional feel.
We hope to see you all next year for Red Kite Battle of the Bands 2026!