BARSTAFF

Competing up against 543 up and coming artists to secure a slot on the Lakefest Main Stage alongside Gaz Coombes and Johnny Marr, Wigan band BARSTAFF 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, BARSTAFF faced competition from Kisskie, Jordan Hemingway, Laurie Wright, The Chase, WALLS, Leon O’Leary, Morning Tourist and eventual Amped Competition winners Two Pounds Down. Despite not collecting the grand prize, BARSTAFF will still join all finalists and semi finalists by appearing on Lakefests exclusive AMPED! stage.

Still in their bands infancy, BARSTAFF released their debut EP in April this year and are rapidly gaining respect and recognition across the UK. They have received airplay from Radio X (Xposure) and BBC North West Introducing. They appeared on This Feeling Big in 2023 line ups and complication vinyl alongside some of the biggest talent in the UK right now. They played this years Isle of Wight Festival and take to Wigan’s Slug Fest this week.

We caught up with the four piece to chat about the competition, Lakefest and whats next for BARSTAFF.

Describe your sound in three words?

Alternative Indie Pop

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?

We were honestly so happy just to be invited to compete in the semi finals, and at the Cavern Club when we were told that we’ve made it through to the finals, we were absolutely gobsmacked. At the time of the semi finals, BARSTAFF was less than a year old and it was a huge indicator (and confidence boost) to us that we just might be onto something special

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

At the Cavern Club we loved watching The Chase and they were on fire again at the final but the caliber of the performances at the finals made it just so difficult to root for a favourite.

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?

Good songs and a good time. We don’t take ourselves too seriously and really enjoy performing live, I think when the audience sees that you’re enjoying yourselves, the energy is contagious.

Who are you hoping to watch at Lakefest?

We’re really excited to see Johnny Marr and Insipral Carpets for the first time. Josh is also very excited to watch the The Hoosiers live, as their debut was the first ever album he bought.

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

We’ve got a large backlog of tracks we’re really excited to release so the prize money would have been used towards time producing the tracks in the studio. A portion of the prize would have also went towards marketing and PR around our second EP (keep your eyes peeled).

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

We’ll be Headlining a Festival in Wigan called Slugfest in August, then we’ve got a Headline gig over in Liverpool in the Jacaranda in September. We’re gearing up to announce some exciting news very soon too. Next week, we’re back in the studio to make a dent in our backlog of tracks and they’ll be more information about them soon so follow the usual Twitter/Insta/Facebook to stay in the loop.

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

Ben – Aperol Spritz, Jack + Ciara – Guinness, Josh – Amaretto Sour