News

11:00 Wednesday 27 Jun 2018 Mary Scott-JacksonCrowd-Funded Bands Headline Lendy Cowes Week Stage

Little Brother Eli

Lendy Cowes Week this year will feature a new stage showcasing the best of crowd-funded bands as part of the regatta festivities this Summer. On Wednesday 8 August, sitting at the centre of the shore-side activities, the Lendy New Generation Music Stage on Cowes Parade will host some of the best bands from across the UK – all of whom have called on crowd-funding to run their bands.

The bands, announced for the first time today, include the multi-award winning Rainbreakers (British Blues Awards 2017), whose roots hail from the Isle of Wight; Little Brother Eli – recently a featured artist on BBC 6 Music; Theia – winner of the single of the year 2017 (greatmusicstories.com); Lethbridge Owen and Empire.

The performances will begin at 2pm on 8 August and run into the evening. The event will be a free concert for people visiting Lendy Cowes Week. The sets will combine a mixture of acoustic and electric performances, to complement the mood of the setting and the way a typical day at Lendy Cowes Week unfolds. After the New Generation acts have completed their sets, Lendy will close the evening with a special party hour. Details to be announced.

Lendy’s decision to launch a stage featuring crowd-funded bands is rooted in its position as one of the UK’s leading peer-to-peer secured lending platforms. Peer to peer lending has become the fastest growing form of alternative finance in recent years, particularly in the music industry.

Rainbreakers

Paul Riddell, Head of Marketing and Communications at Lendy, commented:

“50 years since the Isle of Wight pioneered a new festival that has since become one of the most treasured in history, the Isle of Wight once again pioneers a new type of music platform for our time. Lendy is delighted to be able to provide this platform, showcasing some of the best talent in contemporary guitar music.

“Our new initiative reflects the changing state of rock music and the rock music industry today. For us, this is about showcasing the best talent that we know people will love when they hear them, who have made effective use of crowdfunding and built social media communities themselves. This is something that links directly to our enterprise ethos and the future of the digital economy, which spans music to property and everything in between.”

Tarot Rats

Johnny Hammond from Tarot Rats added:

“This is such an amazing opportunity for us to show a new audience, in a new setting, what Tarot Rats is all about. The emerging guitar music scene has become very dependent on P2P-style investment like crowdfunding.  Many bands today manage themselves as businesses and they use community funding and social media networks to grow their brands. We were delighted to have been shortlisted for this event because of this, and look forward to showing our music to those there. See you there!”