This article was published in 2009.

Summer is peeping round the corner and that turn of the season heralds the annual Futuresound Competition, offering West Yorkshire bands the phenomenal prize of playing Leeds and Reading Festivals.

Futuresound 2009 organisers are now on the lookout for local bands and solo musicians to take part in the annual competition which showcases the best regional talent in a battle of the bands style competition to win the coveted festival slots.

For the second consecutive year the overall winner will play on the Festival Republic Stage at both Leeds and Reading Festivals, which has previously featured performances by Kasabian, Bloc Party and Arctic Monkeys. The five runners up will also get the opportunity to play at both festivals on the BBC Introducing Stage.

The success of The Pigeon Detectives, Grammatics, Sky Larkin, Kaiser Chiefs and The Sunshine Underground has shown Leeds to be a hotbed of new musical talent, and the competition is the opportunity for local bands to get noticed at one of the UK’s major music festivals.

The competition is now in its ninth year. Last year saw a huge amount of top quality entrants with Fran Rodgers, Dinosaur Pile Up and These Monsters coming in the top six acts.

The competition will take place over 10 dates, running from the end of June and over the course of July featuring a three band line-up at each date. All gigs will be judged by three judges from within the Leeds music industry.

Full details about the competition and conditions of entry can be found on the 2009 Application Form which you will need to download, fill in and return.

The deadline for entries will be Friday 29th May.

Any queries about the competition can be sent to andy [ at ] thecockpit.co.uk.

For all the latest festival news keep checking out our Leeds Festival site.