A TALENTED Spa band will perform for music industry experts when they feature in a national competition for unsigned acts.

The Crooked Empire have made it through to the second stage of The Surface Unsigned Festival. This means they will join other performers as they showcase their brand of indie rock in the Midland region of the event.

The Surface Unsigned Festival is the only national live music event that brings unsigned bands and artists to the attention of all aspects of the music industry. It is a festival of new music held throughout the country in aid of discovering and promoting new talent. The Spa three-piece are now set to perform at Birmingham venue The Rainbow, Adderley Street, Digbeth, on Saturday, June 20.

Lead singer of The Crooked Empire, Sean Sheldon, aged 26, said: “We were surprised to get through the first round, but are really pleased. The decision on who goes through is based on popularity and the number of text and crowd votes you receive. On the night we had the most points and got a lot of positive feedback.

“A lot of people from Droitwich came to support us and we hope they will do that again.”

Anyone interested in listening to The Crooked Empire can visit www.myspace.com/thecrookedempire People who want to vote for the band to progress to the next round must text Birmingham 3201 to 64343.

People must be over 16 to vote, each vote costs £1 with 10p going to Oxfam, and they must ask the bill payers permission.