The 3 Student Music Awards 2006 formally kick off in Edinburgh today. Organised by students' union TV network SUBtv, thirty student bands have been picked out from all the demos submitted from artists at colleges across the UK. You can listen to tracks and watch performances from each of them, and vote for your favourites, right now at http://www.studentmusicawards.co.uk.
Meanwhile, each shortlisted band will perform at one of ten showcases at students' unions around the UK, the first tonight in Edinburgh. Each showcase will feature three bands plus a set from guest headliners Dogs (or the marvel that is Max Sedgley at the LSE date). Dates for the showcases, and bands on show, as follows.
16 Feb: Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh - Icarus Down, Thee Comrades, Very Almost
21 Feb: Swansea University - Joe Seager, The Haze, Cath Lewis
22 Feb: UCLAN, Preston - InFlightMovie, Reism, Trans-Amp
24 Feb: Liverpool University - Vagabond Son, Whiskycats, Karmen Vega
3 Mar: Nottingham Trent University - E-Mission, Ugli, Tortion
4 Mar: Staffordshire University, Stafford - Blueside Circle, Hips Like Cinderella, Sophia Humphreys
9 Mar: LSE, London - Dan Priddy, Wiservice, Mr Mouth
9 Mar: Thames Valley University, Ealing - Lola Edun, The Know, Stoyic
15 Mar: King's College London - National Snack, Livid, Olympus Mons
16 Mar: Old Market Theatre, Brighton - Decoder, Miss Al Brown, Wailing Jacks
We'll be running interviews with all thirty finalists on the CMU Beats website in the next few weeks - meantime press info on the awards from Slice.