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On the Friday night of the Godiva Festival, the winners of the G Factor competition took to the stage to show exactly why a prestigious spot on the bill was rightfully theirs. Of the eight bands who won their place we were able to watch six and here is what we thought...

Even though they were on very early in the bill The Crooks still gave it some with their gruff vocals and memorable rock n roll style. Also worth noting is the singer Raff’s unique dancing, something that needs to be seen to be believed.

Jamson’s Nook

Having seen Jamson’s Nook many times in the past, we were expecting to see their high standard of musicianship and unique style. However with the addition of Jools on Violin they have truly themselves. They brought the sun to the stage on a rainy night, using up tempo beats and world music flavour.

Men in Caves

With up beat and well paced songs, Men in Caves are a powerful trio who manage to make lots of noise and movement for just three guys. Their set was full of distinctive and unrelenting lyrics and vocals, finishing with the set with the haunting melody of Why Did You Bring Me Here?

The Hearing

As much The Hearing’s music is instrumental, they are not bound by conventional verse/chorus structure enabling them to effortlessly manipulate rhythm and melody within their music to keep the audience spellbound. The tunes are as intricate as they are powerful and on the Godiva stage that gave them the ability to totally blow the crowd away.

When it comes to DbMA they take to the stage with an incredible arrogance which in their case is justified by their talents. With catchy lyrics you can easily sing along to and an amazing ability to interlace melodies using guitars, keys and vocals this band is one to watch for the future. We did however feel that they could have chosen a better song to finish their set with.

Sun Zoom Spark

If we were to sum this band up with two words it could be done with ‘Sleaze Rock’, but then this review of them would be extremely short. Sun Zoom Spark have inviting four part harmonies and distinctive vocals that have earned them a growing following. Their songs are observational and topical (eg. about the 1st July smoking ban), and may not have longevity, but satisfy for the moment.

This had to be the perfect way to end the night with Cov’s Premier Party band playing to a packed out tent. It was unfortunate though that owing to the bands overrunning that SZS couldn’t do their last song, despite vehement protests from the crowd.

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Click the links on the right-hand side of this page to watch videos of the winners of the G Factor competition performing at Godiva.

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Dan is part of ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Coventry & Warwickshire's Citizen 1000 project, for more information and to find out how to apply, click on the link below: