Jonathan Markwell

Party-rock band StereoEpic is promising a seriously high energy show in Gainsborough this Friday as part of a county festival.

Packing the youthful exuberance of early Green Day, with added British punk attitude, the band has been gathering momentum since forming in 2009.

While recently working on the debut album, bassist Martin Rice says he’s excited at the prospect of being onstage again as part of the All About Records festival.

“We look forward to playing every show, but this is going to be a little bit more special as we’re showcasing some new tracks from the album,” he said.

The festival, hosted by the band’s label All About Records, should be a great boost for the town’s local bands, as Rice explains.

“Gainsborough has a lot of unsigned but very talented bands and there’s not really anywhere purpose-built for us to play. Most venues are hired out and all the big gigs happen in Lincoln, Sheffield and Doncaster.”

That’s not to say there’s a lack of enthusiasm for local music. “We’ve done tours with other bands on our label All About Records before and Gainsborough always get the best reception. There’s always a crowd in,” he added.

The band is set to rock the first day of the festival, which takes place on March 16 and 17 at The Liberal Club. Martin is keen to mention some of the other great bands set to take the stage over the two days.

“They Say Fall are from here too, and they always put on a killer show. There’s some real out-of-town talent like Goodbye Sky Harbour and Jet Pack playing as well.”

For anyone venturing along to the event, Martin’s promising a good time during his band’s energetic set. “There’s a lot of jumping around! It’s a very high-energy set, and we get people on stage to sign and dance with us.”

Join the party from 5pm at The Liberal Club on Ropery Road, Gainsborough on Friday, and from 2pm on Saturday. Entry is £7 per day, or £10 for a weekend ticket.

Lunch are hoping their mixture of hip-hop loops and indie quirks will prove a recipe for success as they set up camp in the studio to finish their new EP.

Meanwhile, they are preparing for the regional finals for the Live and Unsigned competition on Sunday, March 11, at the Beck Theatre in London.

Tom Cale, Josh Jackson and James Mulligan met at the University of Lincoln while in different bands, but eventually came together to form Lunch, a group that frontman Tom describes as a mixture of “electro pop, power punk, metal and East London grime.” Drummer John Innis then completed the line-up after they recorded their initial demo tracks.

After successful gigs included playing Lincoln’s Tokyo club alongside the slinky dance-pop of Dutch Uncles, the band finally settled down to record as a four-piece at the end of last year.

Tom thinks waiting to commit the songs to tape has been worth it: “We’ve grown and learnt a lot over the last year about the sound of Lunch and this record is aimed at capturing the bank of songs we have been playing and perfecting over that time.

“It has a mix of ethereal summery beach break up songs and rocky folk songs.” After their early recordings and shows demonstrated some interesting lyrical themes, Tom confirms these new songs won’t disappoint with “songs about beaches and being ejected from aeroplanes.”

The band will soon be taking a break from mixing by bringing their new material to an audience at the Live and Unsigned event. They’re playing on Sunday, March 11, but despite the imminent return to the spotlight Tom isn’t feeling anxious.

“There’s a slight pang of nerves, but nothing debilitating. It keeps you on the edge and pushes you to play your best show” he says. “We think Live and Unsigned will be a productive thing for us to do. There are some serious prizes along the way and it’s a great chance to make some new fans.”

Local singer Hannah Robinson will also perform in the Live and Unsigned regional finals on March 25 in Sheffield.

Keep an eye on the band’s Facebook and Twitter for details of when their new songs will be served.