Red Kite Alliance Battle of The Bands supported by Launchpad

On Thursday 22^nd January 2026 young people from 8 secondary schools belonging to the Red Kite Alliance from across Leeds took part in the 3^rd Red Kite Battle of the Bands at The Wardrobe, supported by Launchpad. All 8 bands performed in front of a sold-out capacity crowd with the hope of being crowned Red Kite Battle of the Bands Champions 2026.

The performers had been preparing for this night since September, with many schools hosting their own heats to select bands for the final and so the atmosphere was electric at the Wardrobe as the start of this highly anticipated event drew nearer. 

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 8 performing groups received individual mentoring / advice sessions from the Launchpad team. The performances were judged by a panel of Launchpad Industry advisors Vijay Mistry (drummer, Kaiser Chiefs), James Flegg (Music Festival Organiser, Chapel Allerton Music Festival) 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 2027.  

The final showdown featured an impressive lineup with bands delivering a string of performances to an exceptionally high standard. Every band was supported by a rich mix of 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.  The evening featured a mixture of covers and original songs: 

• Limerence (Ralph Thoresby) performed ‘Running up that hill’ by Kate Bush

• Stuffed Olive (Roundhay) performed ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’ by Arctic Monkeys  

• Resonance (Guiseley) performed ‘Take me to Church’ by Hozier

• The Broken Compasses (South Craven) performed their original song ‘No Place to Go’

• Left on Red (Ilkley Grammar) performed ‘Dive’ by Olivia Dean 

• Undecided as yet (Prince Henry’s Grammar) performed ‘Creep’ by Radiohead 

• Neon Penguins (Allerton Grange) performed Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne

• öops (Lawnswood) performed their original song ‘Messerschmitt’ 

While the judges deliberated the audience was treated to a phenomenal headline set by last year’s winners' ‘Vertigo’ (Temple Moor School). Vertigo delivered a masterclass in working the crowd and absolutely rocked the Wardrobe with a set of original songs that will live long in the memory! As part of their prize for winning the Red Kite Battle of the Bands in 2025 Vertigo performed at the Chapel Allerton Music Festival 2025 and spent two days recording at Eiger Studios with producer Ieuan Jones of the band Artio.  Vertigo are planning to return to the recording studio in the coming months to finish recording new songs for an album they hope to release in late 2026 / early 2027. It is great to see that already this competition is contributing to a young band making their way in the music industry.  This is central to the mission of this competition and we hope that more young bands will follow in the footsteps of Vertigo.

Every performer relished the opportunity to showcase their talent on a professional stage. It was the band ‘The Broken Compasses’ (South Craven), performing their own orginal song No Place to Go, who were crowned the Red Kite Battle of the Bands Champions 2026.

In hot pursuit in 2^nd place were Neon Penguins (Allerton Grange) with öops (Lawnswood) in 3^rd place. There was a huge amount of talent on display from across all the schools and the hotly coveted event will return for the 4^th year in January 2027, which will be headlined by this year’s champions, The Broken Compasses. Each year the standard seems to reach an even higher level, and it is exciting to think 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 colleagues Jessica Pymar (Head of Creative Arts) and Victoria Chapman (Head of Music). Special thanks to Sam Nicholls (Music:Leeds/Launchpad), Satnam Galsian and the rest of the Launchpad team and the judges for the outstanding support that they provided for this event. Thanks to the Ilkley Grammar School student backstage team (Francis, Niamh, Rose and Mitchell) and the incredible staff and sound team at the Wardrobe who ensured that the event had a truly professional feel delivered a great event.  Finally, a huge thanks to all the dedicated members of staff and students from the participating schools for making the Red Kite Battle of the Bands 2026 an enjoyable and memorable event.

We hope to see you all next year for Red Kite Battle of the Bands 2027!