Young musicians to support Keane duo at Back to Battle

Two young musicians, who were supported by Rice-Oxley during last year’s sessions, have been hand-picked to open the event, which will see Tim take to the stage with Keane frontman Tom Chaplin.

The acts have been confirmed as 1066 Country residents singer-songwriter Rachel Wilson, 20, and drummer Elliot Lampitt, 20, who will perform with his band Dorey the Wise.

The two lucky hopefuls were initially selected to receive mentoring sessions with Ivor Novello Award winner Rice-Oxley at the inaugural Battle Festival in 2014.

Since then they have been making the most of their money-can’t-buy opportunity to help drive their careers, culminating in them performing as support to their mentor on Saturday, August 8.

For Elliot, last year’s session with Tim gave him the confidence he needed to develop his song writing.

“I can’t thank Battle Festival enough for the opportunity to meet with Tim,” he said.

“I’ve been working on my own material which is quite different from what I play in my band and it was great to get some feedback on this at an early stage and some pointers on how I could improve certain areas.

“Tim gave me the push to keep experimenting.”

Rachel was dubbed ‘sensational’ at the recent Lowde Festival in Hampshire and the advice she received during last year’s Battle Festival was paramount.

“It’s not often you’re given an opportunity to gain advice from someone with the wealth of experience and international success that Keane have,” she said.

“So being able to sit with Tim and have an open, honest conversation regarding my work and writing in general was a real privilege.”

Long considered the holy grail for many Keane fans, the opportunity to see the duo performing on the grounds of Battle Abbey saw them clamouring for tickets weeks before they went on sale.

Local fans queued for hours outside Battle Memorial Hall for the 100 discounted tickets allocated to Battle residents.

All general release tickets sold out online within seconds.

For further information about the Battle Festival, please email [email protected] or visit the website at www.BattleFestival.co.uk

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