Rock The House is a British Parliamentary live music and venue competition founded by Mike Weatherley MP. The competition celebrates up-and-coming unsigned British artists and the live music venues that support them.
The aim of Rock The House is to raise the political profile of the importance of intellectual property rights, and live music, among Parliamentarians. The competition seeks to highlight the importance of copyright in protecting musicians. [1]
Every British MP is invited to nominate a solo-artist, a band, an under-18s act and the best small live music venue from their constituency to participate in Rock The House. A panel of international music industry experts and musicians determine the finalists who compete in a live battle of the bands. The winners in each artist's category play a live set on the Terrace of the House of Commons in the evening at the finale reception. [2]
A range of prizes are awarded to the winners. Prizes from the 2012 Rock The House included top-end Gibson guitars, tickets to the UK Music Video Awards, inclusion in a Caffe Nero in-store playlist and a signed bass guitar by Blink 182. [3]
The Rock The House Parliamentary Competition was founded by Weatherley in 2011. It is the biggest Parliamentary competition with a record- breaking 165 MPs taking part and 195 nominations received for Rock The House 2012. [4]
Weatherley has had a longstanding interest in promoting the creative industries. [5] Prior to entering politics, he was Financial Controller of the Pete Waterman Group from 2000 to 2005. In 2007, he became Vice President (Europe) for the Motion Picture Licensing Company. Mike is a fan of heavy metal and rock music. [5]
The competition's patrons have included: Alice Cooper, Ian Gillan from Deep Purple, Rick Wakeman, Mark Hoppus from Blink 182, Charlie Simpson from Busted, Matt Tuck from Bullet For My Valentine and Axewound, Rob Damiani from Don Broco, Yngwie Malmsteen, Rob Caggiano from Anthrax, Steel Panther, Scott Gorham from Thin Lizzy and Bernie Marsden from Whitesnake. [6]
Film The House is the sister competition to Rock the House, founded in 2012. The competition celebrates the best up-and-coming amateur film producers, directors and script-writers via a national competition. [7]
The competition is broken into five categories: Drama/Thriller/Action, Comedy, Music Video, Documentary, and Under 18s. Local MPs nominate the top short film from each category from their consistency and submit their nominations to a judging panel of film industry heavyweights.
Film The House aims to raise the profile of the importance of copyright to film makers, of film itself and the creative industries in general among Parliamentarians and the Government. [8]
House The House is a Parliamentary DJ competition, founded by Mike Weatherley in 2012 in conjunction with the Last Night a DJ Saved My Life charity. The competition celebrates the best up-and-coming and unsigned DJ talent. The aim of the competition is to raise awareness of the importance of copyright in the music industry.
Entrants are invited to upload DJ mixes of any genre. Regional heats are held throughout the UK, with each heat judged by a selection of local leaders and music industry representatives.
The grand final is held on the House of Commons Terrace with the winner gaining a chance to perform alongside a famous DJ. [9]
Washington, D.C., has been home to many prominent musicians and is particularly known for the musical genres of Jazz, Rhythm & Blues, bluegrass, punk rock and its locally-developed descendants hardcore and emo, and a local funk genre called go-go. The first major musical figure from District of Columbia was John Philip Sousa, a military brass band composer. Later figures include jazz musicians, such as Duke Ellington, Charlie Rouse, Buck Hill, Ron Holloway, Davey Yarborough, Michael A. Thomas, Butch Warren, and DeAndrey Howard; soul musicians, including Billy Stewart, The Unifics, The Moments, Ray, Goodman & Brown, Van McCoy, The Presidents, The Choice Four, Vernon Burch, guitarist Charles Pitts, and Sir Joe Quarterman & Free Soul.
Battle of the Bands is a name given to any music contest or competition in which a number of bands compete for the title of "best band". The winner is determined by a voice vote of the audience or the band who brings the most people to support them. Traditionally, battles of bands are held at live music events and forums. Popular examples include the yearly Live and Unsigned contest in the United Kingdom and the annual SoundWave Music Competition.
ARTISTdirect is an American online digital media entertainment company.
Scratch is a 2001 documentary film, directed and edited by Doug Pray. The film explores the world of the hip-hop DJ from the birth of hip-hop when pioneering DJs began extending breaks on records, to the invention of scratching and beat juggling, to the more recent explosion of turntablism. Throughout the documentary, many artists explain how they were introduced to hip-hop while providing stories of their personal experiences.
Dingwalls Dancehall is a live music and comedy venue adjacent to Camden Lock, Camden, London, England. The building itself is one of many industrial Victorian buildings that were put to new use in the 20th century. The original owner of the building, T.E. Dingwall, had his name painted on to the outside wall of the building, which was a common practice by businesses in Camden Town during the late Victorian era. The paint is still visible to this day, hence the venue's name.
Sir Henry's was a bar and nightclub on South Main Street in Cork, Ireland. It was founded by Jerry Lucey in 1978. The name was derived from Henry O'Shea, a baker and building owner in the South Main Street area of Cork city. The club was known for its house, trance, R&B, hip hop and regular live rock concerts. Gigs held there included a number by The Golden Horde, Toasted Heretic, Sonic Youth with support band Nirvana, Therapy?, The Wedding Present and The Fall.
Jacob Butler is an Australian rock/pop musician and singer-songwriter. He became known for his participation in Australian Idol and The X Factor (Australia). His debut album Reason was released in 2012 throughout Europe. Reason was released in Australia and New Zealand on 16 August 2013.
Live and Unsigned is a music competition in the United Kingdom for unsigned bands and vocal groups to perform live for substantial prizes. It was founded 2007, and has attracted over 40,000 entrants annually since its inception. Competitors perform in their own genre and style to a paying audience and judging panel. The competition tours the UK holding auditions and finals in various areas and regions, and the Grand National Final is held in London The O2 in London being the last used.
Michael Richard Weatherley was a British Conservative Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hove in East Sussex from 2010 to 2015.
Troxy is a Grade II-listed Art Deco music venue on Commercial Road in Stepney, London. Built as a cinema in 1933, it closed in 1960 and became a training school for the London Opera Centre. In the 1980s the building was used as a bingo hall, and the Troxy was converted to a live events space in 2006. The building is considered a vital part of East London's history and was Grade II listed in 1990. It has a capacity of 3,100.
The Dungog Film Festival was an annual event held in the Hunter Region town of Dungog. The Dungog Film Festival was a not-for-profit arts organization that was dedicated to celebrating and promoting the Australian screen industry. The festival provided education of the Australian film and TV industry through a range of initiatives. Some proceeds of the festival have gone towards preserving the James Theatre. The festival aimed to support the Australian Film and TV Industry in a non-competitive environment that exclusively showcased Australian screen content.
FranKo are an English pop/rock/alternative band from South London, England. The group consists of Tommy Bastow, Richard Craker (vocals/guitars), Chris Gilbertson and Richard "Ricky" Rayner on the Drums.
Music Connection is a United States-based monthly music-trade magazine, which began publication in 1977. It caters to career-minded musicians, songwriters, recording artists and assorted music-industry support personnel. The magazine began by focusing on the Southern California music scene, but now has a national focus and national distribution. The publication and its website offer inside information about the music business, including specialized directories of contact information about professionals and Free Classifieds for musicians. Music Connection also publishes reviews of unsigned and independent live performers and recording artists. A number of acclaimed artists achieved their first music-magazine-cover status from Music Connection. Those artists and groups include Guns N' Roses, Madonna, Jane's Addiction, Alanis Morissette, White Stripes and Adele.
Harley Edward Streten, known professionally as Flume, is an Australian DJ and music producer. He is regarded as a pioneer of future bass who helped popularise the genre. His self-titled debut studio album, Flume, was released in 2012 to positive reviews, topping the ARIA Albums Chart and reaching double-platinum accreditation in Australia.
The Preatures were an Australian indie rock band from Sydney, New South Wales, who formed in 2010. The band consisted of lead vocalist and keyboardist Isabella "Izzi" Manfredi, guitarist and vocalist Jack Moffitt, bassist Thomas Champion, and drummer Luke Davison. Vocalist and guitarist Gideon Bensen was a member of the band until 2016. In 2013, the Preatures won the Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition with their song "Is This How You Feel?" They disbanded in 2021, following the launch of Manfredi's solo career.
Collibus is a British five piece, progressive metal band from Manchester. Members include Gemma Fox, Stephen Platt, Daniel Mucs, RJ Kershaw, and Darren Pugh (drums). In November 2013, Collibus was the first rock band to play a live set in the UK House of Commons.
Liam Burrows is an Australian musician and singer. He first came to prominence in 2011 when he reached the Grand Final of the fifth season of Australia's Got Talent in which he was awarded the fifth place in the overall competition in which 19,000 participants had originally entered. His independently released debut album, All of Me, came out in 2011.
Dave Tough is an American multi-instrumentalist, producer, engineer, songwriter and music industry educator. He is also a member of the band Xavier & Ophelia who released their debut album X&O in 2011. Tough has released two solo albums, one in 1999 and one in 2005, and he has won the grand prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest twice, in 2009 in the country category, and in 2013 in the electronica category. He has also written and produced songs for shows such as Hart of Dixie, Nashville, Hemlock Grove, and the Seth Rogen film Observe and Report. Tough has won two GMA Covenant Awards for his work producing, engineering, and writing songs with guitar instrumentalist Sean Spicer.
Australian Women in Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony and conference celebrating the contributions of women in all areas of the Australian music industry. The two-day program includes forums, a show case event and networking. Diversity and inclusion is a focus of the awards. The event was founded in March 2018 by industry veteran Vicki Gordon and come after the research report 'Skipping A Beat' published in 2017 found gender inequality to be rife in the Australian music industry. Artist Katie Noonan said at the launch, "These awards are a powerful signal to our industry, our artists and our audience that female musicians can, should and will take centre stage". The inaugural event was staged in Brisbane on 9–10 October 2018. Helen Reddy was the inaugural inductee into the AWMA Honour Roll.
The Ghana DJ Awards are an annual award ceremony for DJs in Ghana. They were created with the aim to recognize and honour DJs, and individuals who have influenced electronic dance music in Ghana, as well as to foster the development of the Ghana music industry by rewarding and celebrating radio, mobile and club DJs who have excelled in their fields of endeavor.
