NEW GRASSROOTS MUSIC EVENT AWARDS £1000 TO UP AND COMING GLASGOW BAND
Friday, 21st February 2025, saw the first £1000 MELTERZ prize give away, awarded to the artist that had sold the most tickets in their 3-month line up. Glasgow band Ragazzi were the ones to steal this jackpot away after B12 Entertainment owner and founder Gareth Gonet declared the winners to the crowd on stage.
The showcase took place in Glasgow city centre’s Classic Grand, the venue maintaining the bustling crowd that made up the event. There was a buzz of excitement that flowed through the venue that night, as everyone awaited the result of the possible large cash sum.
MELTERZ is B12’s latest live event series which aims to showcase Glasgow’s best up and coming artists with the additional bonus of the prize money. With the rise in difficulty to emerge onto the Glasgow music scene, B12 offer support through their promotion gigs as a starting help for the bands to get their foot in the door. This event serves as a starting point for grassroots bands and is a great event to witness the future of Glasgow’s music right in their early career.
SAVE FACE
First up on the stage was alternative folk group Save Face, a six-piece band experimenting in both alternative rock sounds and softer folk that’s reminiscent of the likes of Big Thief and Neutral Milk Hotel. The band immediately gained the crowds attention with their new song ‘Intro’, a song from their latest EP release ‘All the Gold in the World’. This gradual build of the song served as a perfect opener, allowing the crowd to ease into their sound and settle into the band’s idyllic guitar riffs and chanting lyrics.
As the set progressed, the crowd were more and more enticed by this refreshingly new sound. A crowd favourite being their use of the trumpet, unifying the folk and rock together.
We were left with their song ‘Nobody’, a truly captivating tune played live that’s built on the gradual chant and progression of the lyric “nobody”. The crowd were all moving to this one as the sound grew louder and quicker. Nearly every member of the band were singing along to this hit, encouraging the crowd to do the same. Save Face are truly creating an exciting take on the alt-folk world, utilising interesting vocal harmonies along with unique melodies.
L3MON
L3mon served as a change in pace to the gig, bringing hard electric riffs and thumping drums throughout their performance. The 4-piece grunge band delivered the desired punk act that the crowd needed, the barrier full for their entire act.
The band played covers including ‘Brain Stew’ by Green Day and Radiohead’s ‘Just’, ranging in multiple genres and styles to play live. These covers helped achieve the busiest crowd yet, mosh pits breaking out and helpful words of encouragement from others to the full audience moving.
The punk act knew exactly how to engage with crowd in the right way through consistently rewarding us through familiar tunes to all.
HIPPOS AREN’T REAL
New band to the scene, Hippos Aren’t Real, brought real stage presence to their set by demanding the attention from their audience through their sheer volume. The band incorporated heavy drums and gritty lyrics, shouting each lyric along by the front man.
The band made use of interesting guitar melodies and riffs, getting louder each song as the night grew later. Although less interactive with their audience, this didn’t discourage the crowd to move to their set.
Hippos Aren’t Real are an exciting act to go see live and are off to a promising beginning to their career.
RAGAZZI
Last to play were the winners of the night, Ragazzi, leaving the crowd with their indie rock sound and performance. This band brought memorable covers and originals to their set, a crowd favourite being their cover of David Guetta’s ‘Sexy Bitch’ but with their own indie twist. Other covers included Fontaine DC’s ‘Death Kink’ and Franz Ferdinand’s classic track ‘Take Me Out’, winning the whole crowd over and successfully getting them moving.
Selling over 100 tickets, Ragazzi delivered to the crowd that night and was bribed to play one last tune at the end of their set. With their electric stage presence and staggering performance, Ragazzi are a band that have kicked their gigging career off in high praise.
The MELTERZ series is an ongoing event, the next round starting Friday 7th March at Classic Grand. Bands playing are Careo, The Grapevine, Nameless, Sick Pay and Tokes. Witness the rising talent of Glasgow. Get your tickets here – https://www.tickettailor.com/events/b12entertainment/1564272
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