This article was published in 2011.

With the Leeds Festival line up announced attention in Leeds once again turns to the Futuresound competition, the annual competition that offers six bands and musicians from West Yorkshire the opportunity to appear live at the Reading and Leeds Festivals.

As per previous years, the overall winner of Futuresound 2011 will appear on the Festival Republic Stage, and the five runners up will each get the opportunity to play live on the BBC Introducing Stage. The six bands will appear at both sites.

From the hundreds of applications (yes - there are literally hundreds of bands that enter each year) five judges will select 40 bands who will appear in a series of heats at the Cockpit in Leeds. These gigs will take place in late June and throughout July with the six winners to be announced after the final heat.

The competition is only open to bands in the West Yorkshire region and the deadline for entries is Friday, June 3rd. Good luck everybody!

Download the application form here.