TWO of East Lancashire’s hottest musical acts have made it through the first round of the Live and Unsigned 2010 competition.

Blackburn’s Jamie Gallagher and Barnoldswick band Tyro both sailed through the regional audition stage of the competition to find the next big thing.

Now they will be competing against bands and artists from across the UK in live head-to-head battles in front of thousands of spectators and a professional judging panel.

The successful acts will play at the Live and Unsigned Festival at the O2 Arena in London.

The overall winner will be offered a £30,000 recording and management contract with Future Music.

Jamie Gallagher, 16, is a singer/songwriter who has gained a good local following with his unique blend of acoustic indie-folk with a hint of country and soul.

He has regularly been playing live gigs in the North West since bursting onto the music scene in last June and is playing Blackburn’s Live Lounge tomorrow night to celebrate his 17th birthday.

Tyro — Alex Steventon (lead vocalist), Lee Cunningham (guitarist and backing vocalist), Tom Faulkner (guitarist), Rob Idle (bassist), and Mat Millington (drummer) — were formed in late 2008 and had their first gig in April 2009. In less than a year the band have recorded a five-track EP, had a recommendation from Rochdale music star Lisa Stansfield and have played on BBC radio.

Live and Unsigned has attracted more than 30,000 entries in the past three years and is open to all genres of music, from heavy rock to rap.

Chris Grayston, events director of Live and Unsigned, said: “This competition really is worlds apart from The X Factor and other TV talent contests. We’re all about originality, live ability and credibility. We don’t accept demos or submissions and everyone auditions live”