Ellie Goulding joins HMV's Next Big Thing festival

NEXT BIG THING - the exciting new music festival being staged and promoted by HMV and live music partner MAMA Festivals across five London venues next month, has met with the enthusiastic endorsement of some of the hottest new and breakthrough acts of 2010.

Over 60 artists drawn from across the musical spectrum have signed up to perform in the inaugural 2010 festival, including newly-crowned BBC Sounds of 2010 poll winner and BRITs Critics Choice recipient Ellie Goulding, who will be one of the star performers at the Relentless Garage, and the No.2 in the BBC Sounds poll Marina and the Diamonds, who will headline Upstairs at Relentless Garage.

Marina of Marina & the Diamonds comments: "HMV have provided a brilliant way for the public to see artists who are hopefully on the tip of something great, in an intimate setting very early on in their careers. It's also great for the artists, as it provides a platform to perform to a new range of fans, who will have never heard of them before, let alone seen them live."

The aim of Next Big Thing is to showcase the best new talent from the UK, Ireland and around the world through an annual, multi-venue festival, giving music fans an early and affordable opportunity at the start of each new year to catch some of the hottest acts tipped for breakthrough success. The festival, which is London-based but aims to develop into a nationwide event in time, also has a remit to support different music genres, ranging from Indie & Rock to Folk & Jazz and from Pop & Electronica to Hip Hop & Grime.

With more names still to be confirmed, tickets for Next Big Thing, which is supported by media partners Time Out and Xfm, are selling fast. They are priced at an all-in fee of just £10, and can be purchased online at www.hmvnextbigthing.com or from the venue box offices. See Notes to Editors for full venue details, artist line-ups and dates.

Other new artists on the Relentless Garage bill who have similarly been tipped for breakthrough success this year include Folk-Rock duo from Sheffield Slow Club and Belfast's General Fiasco. Surrey outfit You Me At Six already have an avid following but are expected to connect with a much wider audience this year, and they will be joined by special guests Young Guns and This City in what promises to be an exciting night of Rock and one of the highlights of the ten-day festival.
Upstairs at Relentless Garage is also set to host some memorable performances, including by Welsh-based Marina & the Diamonds – described as 'Kate Bush meets Florence and the Machine'; highly rated Leicester Blues/Rocker Jersey Budd; Mercury Music nominees Sweet Billy Pilgrim; and hot new Irish band CODES, who have drawn comparisons with Coldplay.

Across town during the same ten-day period the Borderline will host the likes of San Diego Indie rockers The Soft Pack and unsigned LIPA (Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts) MIBI songwriting winner Polly Mackey & The Pleasure Principle (www.mibi.org.uk).

North London chanteuse Paloma Faith, who has already enjoyed top-10 album success and played the role of Sally in Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus last year; Rox; Californian singer-songwriter Jesca Hoop; and Scottish former model Alex Gardner, who counts Paolo Nutini among his fans, will be among the headline acts at the London Jazz Café.

Heaven has new Hip Hop and Grime star Tinie Tempah lined-up among its artists – with more to follow, while Camden Barfly will host a number of great Rock acts that have been 'bubbling under' but are now set for major success such as Hadouken! and Joshua Radin.


The Borderline
Sat, 6 Feb Chew Lips, Charli XCX
Mon, 8 Feb Plasticines, Polly Mackey & The Pleasure Principle
Tues, 9 Feb Little Comets, Goldhawks
Wed, 10 Feb The Wave Picture, Lisa Mitchell, The Miserable Rich
Fri, 12 Feb The Soft Pack, Comanechi, O'Children
Sat, 13 Feb Ian King, Andrew Morris

Jazz Café
Fri, 5 Feb Jesca Hoop, Lissie, Cate Le Bon
Sat, 6 Feb Hamel, Leddra Chapman
Mon, 8 Feb Rox, Krystle Warren, Andreya Triana
Thur, 11 Feb Paloma Faith, Alex Gardner

Relentless Garage
Mon, 8 Feb You Me At Six, Young Guns, This City
Tues, 9 Feb Slow Club, First Aid Kit, Slow Moving Millie
Wed, 10 Feb Ellie Goulding, Erik Hassle, Tinashe
Fri, 12 Feb Band of Skulls, General Fiasco, Birds of Tokyo
Sat, 13 Feb Example, Ou Est Le Swimming Pool, Lights

Upstairs at Relentless Garage
Fri, 5 Feb Marina & The Diamonds
Wed, 10 Feb The Cheek, CODES
Thur, 11 Feb Jersey Budd, Davy Knowles, Cosmo Jarvis
Sat, 13 Feb Sweet Billy Pilgrim, Georgia Ruth

Heaven
Wed, 10 Feb Tinie Tempah, Eliza Doolittle

Barfly, Camden
Fri, 5 Feb Hadouken!, Unicorn Kid
Mon, 8 Feb Joshua Radin, Alan Pownall, The Boy Who Trapped The Sun
Wed, 10 Feb TRANSGRESSIVE NIGHT: Johnny Flynn
Sun, 14 Feb TRANSGRESSIVE NIGHT: Mystery Jets, Two Door Cinema Club