THE countdown is on until dozens of young people take centre stage in a fundraising 'Battle of the Bands' for St Mary's Hospice.

Collaborating to help the youth of Barrow develop self-confidence, You Bring The Band (YBTB) is to hold a concert on May 10 at 7pm at Furness Academy.

The event will see students from both the Academy and St Bernard’s, as well as other groups, performing to hundreds of people - with most never even picking up an instrument before.

Head of YBTB Chris Burl said: “We were awarded resources for this project by The Big Lottery Fund, which has allowed us to work with young people across Barrow since January.

“In total, there’s 60 young people working together to create posters and share their efforts over social media, which has helped them develop marketing skills.

“They’ve worked incredibly hard through practising whenever they can - some even learning instruments which they’ve never used before.”

Partnering with Cumbria Youth Alliance and Cumbria County Council to receive the funds, YBTB’s project is made up of people from between the ages of 14 up to 24.

The gig’s main theme will highlight the importance of self-confidence as Chris further explained.

He said: “I won’t give any names, but we’re working closely with one girl who has an incredible voice who was terrified of singing in front of people.

“To start with, we asked her to stand away from our band while she sang into the mic.

“The band would then play - and we combined her vocals with their sound to make a great song.

“From not being able to sing in front of a single person, she is now set to sing the opening set at the ‘Battle of the Bands’.

The 60 young people will make up various bands and acts, which will play a cover song, and an original song written during the project.

The performers will play before a panel of judges, who will give awards for ‘Best Cover Song’ and ‘Best Original Song’ titles.

Mr Burl said: “We estimate there will be 300 tickets on sale.

“After the show, digital download of all songs will also be on sale, and proceeds from both ticket and album sales will also go to St Mary’s Hospice.”

Tickets are £6 and the event will feature performances from up-and-coming Newcastle band Lovejoy.

lFor more, visit: www.youbringtheband.co.uk