JORDAN HEMINGWAY

Competing up against 543 up and coming artists to secure a slot on the Lakefest Main Stage alongside Gaz Coombes and Johnny Marr, Singer Songwriter Jordan Hemingway made it all the way to the grand final. The final, which took place last month at Cheltenham’s Brewery Quarter saw the winners of the three regional semi finals come together for the ultimate battle of the bands. On the day, Jordan Hemingway faced competition from Kisskie, BARSTAFF, Laurie Wright, The Chase, WALLS, Leon O’Leary, Morning Tourist and eventual Amped Competition winners Two Pounds Down. Despite not collecting the grand prize, Jordan Hemingway will still join all finalists and semi finalists by appearing on Lakefest exclusive AMPED! stage.

A well established and dedicated songwriter in his own way, Jordan Hemingway now collaborates other passionate musicians to bring a new band dynamic to his live set up. His first solo EP was written and recorded across the pond in Brooklyn, New York with members of naughties indie rock band, Augustines. Mixed by Grammy winning Peter Krasis (Frightened Rabbit, The National, Interpol), Jordan’s first release was something most bands would aspire to. With an independent record label (Condor Records) to his nane and even recent play on This Morning, Jordan Hemingway is an artist to watch.

We caught up with Jordan following his AMPED! grand final appearance to chat about the competition, Lakefest and what else we can look forward to.

Describe your sound in three words?

Heartfelt Authentic Deep (HAD – if you like)

Congratulations making it all the way to the Amped final last weekend! How did it feel to get down to the final 10 out of over 500 artists?

With so much talent on show it’s fantastic to reach the final, but we were not shocked, we are very sure of our sound, we know that our songs can stand up against anything out there – so we fully expected to be in the mix. We’ve been together a year or so now and played a hand full of gigs, so we’re growing in confidence live and are happy with our growth, but we’re constantly looking to be better, we really want the audience to get the most out of our live performances, so that’s our current focus

The competition was strong, did you have a favourite to win (from final or semi finals?)

I was taken with WALLS, I think they would get my vote. Great songwriting, and very entertaining to watch, however, all of the bands from the final had elements I/we admired

As with all Amped finalists and semi finalists, you will still play this year’s festival on the dedicated Amped stage. What can festival goers expect from your Lakefest set?

Energy, passion, and hopefully a song or two imprinted into their hearts & souls (+ on their playlists)

Who are you hoping to watch at Lakefest?

Buzzing to see Embrace, as I am sure they are to see us ..

If you had won, what would you have the £5K prize been put towards?

We’re currently shooting ambitious videos for our upcoming singles ‘Im Awake’ and ‘Don’t let me out’ so it would have gone towards those and studio time

What else do you have planned this year that you would like to share with our readers?

We will be releasing our next single ‘I’m Awake’ (produced by our friend ‘The Wizard’ Eric Sanderson) in the next couple of months, then we’ll be taking a little time to finish off some new music

Finally, if we see you at the bar what are you having??

Whiskey please!