Greystones’ Future Rock Gods Confirmed

Walle of Sound

Just when you think that teenagers around here spent all their time being hypnotised by their phones, a bunch of young musicians come and blow that preconception right out of the harbour.

And the great thing about the entries in this year’s Stepping Stones: Battle Of The Bands is the diversity of those young musicians, as demonstrated by last week’s outdoor live finals extravaganza.

From fiery folkster Margarita Chernikova to Rizla rockers Oyster Island, from the Punk Floyd mash-up of Overture to the, eh, Walle Of Sound of young the multi-talented multi-instrumentalist Nicolaas, it was heartening to see our little corner of the nation is under so many different grooves.

And we have to give a shout-out to The King too, everyone’s favourite Elvis reincarnation ultimately having to bow out of the competition, thanks to a daytrip to Wales that not even he was expecting. Alan is currently resting in a Cardiff hospital, and should be back on Planet Éire soon. Elvis willing.

When it came to deciding on the winners this year, the judges struggled to settle on just one, finally opting for the mild-mannered superman that is Nicolaas Walle. When it came to the public vote, that left a very close battle between Margarita and Overture, the latter just pipping the Russian songstress to the post.

So, congrats to the winners, and, indeed, to all those who took part. We’ll be sorting out the prizes – including, hey, a Guide cover story, a recording session at Hive Studios, and a professional video shot by Robin J. Kavanagh – over the coming weeks.

And thanks, as always, to Greystones Municipal District Council for sponsoring the rockin’ love-in.

You can check out all of 2019’s contestants here, 2018’s rockers here, and 2017 groovers here.