Meet TALENTBANQ: the minds behind the music on our 2nd Stage...

This week, we caught up with the team at TALENTBANQ - who are programming the musical entertainment for ‘The Den’ (our brand new second stage) at this year’s CC Festival - to find out what delights we can expect to see and hear on 16th June…

Hi guys! Can you give us a brief intro to TALENTBANQ and what it is you do?

Hello there! yes indeed - so TALENTBANQ represents a carefully curated selection of some of the UK’s best independent artists, chosen for outstanding live performance above anything else. 

We have 4 key business areas: we’re live agents for more than 70 independent artists; event Managers specialising in live music; concert Promoters producing our own shows; and we also offer an Artist Management service to a select few too!

When was the company set up, and what was the motivation behind it?

We officially turned 1-year-old a few weeks ago! The 3 founding directors - Ray Jones, Paul Ettinger and Lord Mervyn Davies - are passionate advocates for live music and independent artists. The motivation for talentbanq was simple: To create a new business model that would allow artists to thrive without major label support.

JJ ROSA, ONE OF THE TALENTBANQ ARTISTS PERFORMING AT THIS YEAR’S FESTIVAL

How would you describe the range of artists you represent? How are their sounds different, and what unites them?

We currently have over 70 artists on the roster, all of different genres and musical styles! If you look on our website, you will find a mix of singer songwriters, pop, rock, funk, classical, hip hop, electro artists and MORE!

Participation in our agency is by invitation only. Invitations are issued only to acts that we have seen and met, and that are capable of delivering exceptional live performances. We don’t care if an artist has thousands of followers or if their album on Spotify sounds great: if they’re no good live, they’re no good for us.

We have a great relationship with all of the artists on our roster - they are passionate about their art and work hard to try and sustain themselves through their music.

THE AWARD-WINNING EDDY SMITH & THE 507, BRINGING SOULFUL BLUES AND POP TO CC 2019

Who is on the TALENTBANQ team, what are your own histories and what brought you together?

A love of live music brought us together. In London, so many historic music venues are closing. So we’ve just opened a new one in Camden, ‘Live at The Camden Chapel’. We want to try and give the artists the opportunity to headline their own show, in a beautiful ethereal space, and earn money out of it. And it seems to be working as our Thursdays are fully programmed until August now!

In the team, we’ve all come from different backgrounds: Ray was Time Out’s Global Business Development Director before founding TALENTBANQ. Pablo, Chairman, is a founding member of Caffe Nero and is currently Head of Music there. Sam, Development Manager, was a signed Universal Records artist before joining the team. Chloe, Events Manager, worked in Marketing for a major FMCG business - so it’s a wonderful mixture of characters and skill sets.

‘live at the camden chapel’ - talentbanq’s new live music venue in north london

When did you first hear about The Cambridge Club Festival and what made you want to get involved with the music?

We have a great relationship with Caffe Nero who are huge independent music supporters. We have been working with them closely - getting some of the artists on our roster onto their in-store playlists, producing showcases together, and helping curate their stages at various festivals. We were introduced to The Cambridge Club Festival through them, and immediately wanted to get involved: it’s a fantastic day festival, for all ages, and what a GREAT line-up!

What can we expect from ‘The Den’ stage programmed by TALENTBANQ this year? What will it add to the festival vibe?

It’s very simple - LOTS of variety, and of course, some AWESOME live music.

jocee performing with her band - you can catch her at this year’s cc festival too!

Can you give us the lowdown on each of the artists/bands who’ll be playing this year and what we can look forward to?

JJ Rosa – Her guitar wizardry is exhilarating; she can weave colourful patterns and summon biblical electricity; assuage stress and heartache with the merest lick of her guitar.

Woodley Taylor – a local Cambridge band, a timeless sound; a now rare breed of Classic Rock, Country and Folk infused Art-Rock, both lyrically compelling and musically challenging.

Hollie Rogers - A magnificent and powerful voice, reminiscent of Carole King and Joni Mitchell. She has supported the likes of Suzanne Vega, Midge Ure, Paolo Nutini and Ben Howard.

Eddy Smith & The 507 - The finest meshes of Soulful Blues and melodic Pop you will hear this year. They are Best of British: Critics’ Choice Award winners and their soulful grooves won’t fail to put a smile on your face.

Katy Hurt – A sassy young Dolly Parton with Country riffs and raucous Rock. With a UK Country #1 iTunes single, she is really catching fire lately!

Jocee - Having placed her musical faith in vintage Motown and Jazz from a young age, Jocee seamlessly carries this cool into her contemporary new sound. Think Joss Stone meets Jocelyn Brown in the Jazz Café in London.

Georgia & The Vintage Youth - a 22 year old Essex girl with big blonde hair, a big iconic voice and a cool little Jazz band delivering a punchy, brassy sound.

woodley taylor will be returning to their hometown of cambridge on june 16th

Describe your ideal music festival experience in 3 words.

Really, really crazy…

What lies ahead for TALENTBANQ for the rest of this summer and the future beyond that?

We have so much in the pipeline, from festivals to gigs in some of London’s most iconic landmarks, which for our 2 nd year isn’t too bad!! We want to keep discovering and promoting the best independent musicians in the UK, and keep it all about LIVE.


CATCH ALL THESE AMAZING ACTS AT CC FESTIVAL 2019 ON FATHER’S DAY 16TH JUNE! TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE HERE.