Youth contest unites Northampton's urban music scene and museums

9.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 24th Oct 2007

Cllr Brendan Glynane welcomed the mix of traditional and emerging cultures in Northampton

10 young musicians will go head to head in the finals of an urban music contest at the Fish Market on Friday 26th October for the chance to record a professional demo.

The contest has been organised as part of Northampton Borough Council's museum Street Life project which sets out to reach people who by their own admission would not normally visit a museum.

The Street Life judging panel, which includes DJs Garry K, Principal, Spruce, Presha and Fearless, will be performing during the contest, alongside Sidewinder's very own Blizzard, Flex and Vada.

A variety of objects that relate to street fashion from the museum's collections will also be on display.

The competition will give young people an opportunity to break into the music industry and will be judged by some top named DJs. As well as making a demo, the winning track will appear on the next Random Concept/Sidewinder CD and will be played live on BBC1 Extra.

Councillor Brendan Glynane, Northampton Borough Council cabinet member responsible for museums, said:

"In the era of the ASBO, it is good to see projects like this that really connect with young people. Our museums celebrate all parts of the town's community and are not scared to work with groups considered to be unreachable."