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Music fans nominate local acts Early Music, Matty H and She Drew The Gun to perform at Crabbie’s Grand National Day

A competition for music fans to nominate up-and-coming Merseyside acts to perform on Crabbie’s Grand National Day at Aintree Racecourse has given Early Music, Matty H and She Drew The Gun the chance of a lifetime.

Run by Aintree Racecourse in association with the Liverpool Echo’s Getintothis music blog, the contest allowed music lovers to nominate, via twitter and email, acts who they believed deserve the chance to play on a huge stage.

Previous years have seen Esco Williams and Stealing Sheep selected and this year Peter Guy, the man behind Getintothis and Yaw Owusu, curator of the Liverpool International Music Festival and programmer for live music for the Crabbie’s Grand National Festival, have chosen three very popular unsigned acts to play on Saturday, April 5.

They received around 150 nominations before whittling it down to three winners.

Early Music will perform on the Made in Merseyside stage inside the Equestrian Centre.

Lead guitarist Sam Gill said: “We’re all very excited to be invited to play the Grand National. It’s the biggest and best race of its kind in the world so of course it’ll be a pleasure to say we’ve played it!”

Bass player, Pat Holcroft added: “We’ve got a rocking little three-song set planned and we can’t wait to unleash it on the National crowd.”

On the outdoor Steeplechase Acoustic Stage will be Louisa Roach, the creative mind behind She Drew The Gun.

She said she was excited about the prospect of playing on a global stage and sharing her music.

“I was delighted to be offered this chance to play at The Crabbie’s Grand National,” she said. “I have never even been to the races before and thanks to music lovers nominating me I am going to share my music with a new crowd.

“It is a great opportunity and I am really looking forward to it.”

Also playing on the acoustic stage is Matty H. The Sefton singer-songwriter said: “This is the biggest gig of my life!

“I was amazed when I found out I had been chosen, I called my manager and couldn’t believe it. I’m going to be able to meet a whole new audience and hopefully grow my fanbase in a way I never dreamed before.”

This was the third year Peter Guy has worked with The Crabbie’s Grand National to offer artists this chance. He said it continues to capture the imagination of the music-loving public.

“It’s been a pleasure to team up with the Grand National organisers again to select artists for Aintree. This year saw more than 150 Merseyside acts apply to play and coming up with just three was quite a task.

“However it has been super fun as I’ve discovered several new artists to keep an eye on and the three I’ve chosen are superb in their own right. Roll on April 3, it’s going to be a fabulous three days.”

Tickets and hospitality packages for The Crabbie’s Grand National Festival are still available to purchase at www.thecrabbiesgrandnational.co.uk or by calling 0844 579 3001. Racegoers can also buy on the gate on the Thursday and Friday.

Follow Aintree Racecourse’s official twitter account @aintreeinsider #grandnational and like their facebook page at facebook.com/Aintree.