Rafael Miranda
Fri 12 April 2024
Hello guys!
It's that time of the month again, and today's blog is about March, our show at the quarter finals of the New Blood Competition to play at the Isle Of Wight Festival!
Let’s start by ripping off the band aid and saying we didn’t go to the next stage of the competition unfortunately, but it was an amazing experience for us, so let’s tell you a little bit about it.
The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970. The event was revived in 2002.
The original events were promoted and organized by the Foulk brothers (Ron and Ray Foulk) under the banner of their company Fiery Creations Limited and their younger brother Bill Foulk. The venues were Ford Farm (near Godshill), Wootton and Afton Down (near Freshwater) respectively.
The 1969 event featured Bob Dylan and The Band. This was Dylan's first paid performance since his motorcycle accident some three years earlier, and was held at a time when many still wondered if he would ever perform again. Followers from across the world trekked to the Isle of Wight for the performance. Estimates of 150,000–250,000 attended.
It opened on Friday 29 August - eleven days after the close of Woodstock. Dylan was living in Woodstock, New York, at the time and it was widely believed that he would perform there, after the event had been "put in his own backyard". As it happened, Dylan left for the Isle of Wight on 15 August—the day the Woodstock festival began.
The 1970 event was by far the largest of these early festivals; indeed it was said at the time to be one of the largest human gatherings in the world, with estimates of over 600,000, surpassing the attendance at Woodstock.
The unexpectedly high attendance levels led, in 1971, to Parliament adding a section to the Isle of Wight County Council Act 1971 preventing overnight open-air gatherings of more than 5,000 people on the island without a special license from the council.
The 1970 festival was filmed by a film crew under director Murray Lerner, who at that point had just directed the Academy Award-nominated documentary Festival of the Newport Folk Festival.
Acts at the festival included Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, Jethro Tull, The Doors, The Who, Supertramp, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Kris Kristofferson, Redbone and Shawn Phillips.
And it was in this legendary festival that we were competing to play, in the New Blood Competition, organized by Hot Vox Music.
Hot Vox in its turn is a music management, production and promotion company.
They create events that showcase talents across a full range of genres, creating a great atmosphere for both musicians and fans alike.
They also specialize in management, video production and work as consultants for branding, advertising, TV and film.
Their creative team has the expertise to cover all aspects of video production, from initial concept to the final product.
They work with established, touring acts as well as supporting up and coming musicians, giving them the opportunity to perform in great venues.
They also work closely with festivals such as the Isle Of Wight Festival and The Great Escape Festival.
And we've been lucky to be working closely with this outstanding giant in the UK entertainment industry.
The Competition took place at the Macbeth in Hoxton, which is also a historical venue.
The Macbeth has been a music and arts pub for over 100 years.
Offering great entertainment not to mention good food and drink. Our intention has always been to continue this tradition.
So not that much has changed apart from the costumes and music styles ever since Charles Dickens used to prop up the bar.
This pub has survived two World wars, Typhoid and an unrelenting bombardment of some of the best intimate live performances and parties known in the western hemisphere.
It has also – so far – survived Hackney Council’s continuing mission, to sterilize culture and diversity in this historically colourful borough.
And it’s in this amazing piece of cultural history in the heart of Hoxton where it all went down.
Again, unfortunately we didn’t go to the next stage of the competition, but it was an amazing experience for us nonetheless!
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the Hot Vox and the Competition staff, as well as all of the other bands competing, taking was a real pleasure for us.
And last but not least, in March we’ve been also working on the final details of our EP!
In case you hadn't heard, we are currently recording our second studio release: a brand new EP, with the first single to be released within the next few months.
Our first studio album was an absolute success, with results and feedback from the public much better than expected, and if you haven't already don't forget to check it out on all digital platforms: Black Wolf Blues.
And now a couple of years later, a lot of hard work and preparation has been put into this EP, with some of the songs having been in the works for years, now finally ready to be released.
Just to clarify for those who are not too used to the nomenclature, the only difference between an EP and an album is the number of songs, with EPs usually having up to 5/6 songs, with anything more than that being an album.
Our EP will consist of 5 songs in total, but they will be released in singles, with the first one set to be released in a few months.
Recording technology has evolved immensely in the last two decades, giving many independent artists the opportunities that once only big studios and labels could offer.
The music industry has also changed, allowing for artists to distribute their music directly to all digital platforms accessible to anyone around the world, as well as interact directly with their fanbase online and on social media.
And in case you didn't know, our guitarist Jake is also a certified music producer, fresh out of one of the best music universities in London, and he will be in charge of the recording and production of our EP.
Taking all of this combined with the amazing creative output we have been getting from our new line up, and all the beautiful material that has been coming out of it, means that this EP is only the second of many releases yet to come.
One thing that really amazed me personally and that became one of the funnest parts of the whole thing was the writing and recording process.
The writing and recording process we established in this new line up is better than ever! And on top of it all, the dynamic we established between us as band members during the writing process and during the planning of this recording project as a whole is something that finished closing the bonds between us as a band.
We are really excited and working on this project every single day, it will really blow your minds.
You will naturally also get to see the artwork of the EP - which will be awesome - from the very first single, as well as the name of the EP.
As an independent band we need all the support we can get, so we are running a crowdfunding campaign to help us fund the recording of our EP and make it as awesome as possible for you!
If you'd like to contribute with any amount just head on over to our website or Linktree and you will find the link to the crowdfunding there.
Check out our Instagram, Facebook and YouTube for some of our videos, pictures and exclusive content.
New videos and pictures are uploaded to our YouTube channel every week, so don't forget to like and subscribe so that you don't miss out on new content weekly.
We also publish a new blog every month, and next month's blog is going to be one of a kind. So stay tuned and rock on and have an amazing weekend!
Black Wolf Blues
Rafael, Jake & Cam