Erica are the band winners of the 2015 Highway to V Festival battle of the bands competition, hosted by Walkabout. The unsigned Cheltenham band was awarded 1^st place and the chance to open V Festival 2015 in Chelmsford, on the 21^st August, to a crowd of over 15,000 music fans.

Over 500 acts from across the UK entered this year’s competition, of which 180 made it in front of a panel of judges, in Walkabouts up and down the country, with 17 bands making it through to the final.

Dalton Woodward, lead singer of Erica, commented: “It’s an incredible honour to be chosen as this year’s Highway to V Festival winners. We’ve been together as a band for over 5 years now, but this is undoubtedly our biggest gig yet. To think that in less than a week we will open one of the biggest festivals in the UK is mind-blowing, but we can’t wait to get on stage and show them what we’ve got!”

Runners-up Arcaves, a Swedish band formed in 2014, will also join Erica on stage.

Previous winners of the competition, formerly known as Virgin Mobile’s Road to V, have included Bombay Bicycle Club in 2006, who have since been signed by a major record label and in 2014 achieved their first number one with their 4^th studio album So Long, See You Tomorrow.

Paul Glossop, V Festival Event Manager and judge, commented: “The Highway to V Festival battle of the bands competition champions up-and-coming talent across the UK. Every year we see an outstanding variety of performers that make it extremely difficult to choose a winner, and this year was no different. We can’t wait to see Erica open what is set to be an incredible festival this year and expect them to go onto big things.”

V Festival takes place across Hylands Park, Chelmsford and Weston Park, Staffordshire on 22^nd and 23^rd August, and includes some of the biggest names in music including headliners Kasabian and Calvin Harris.

Competition Statistics 

525 bands entered, 180 bands performed & 17 bands made the final.