By 
TYRONE rock band Pitfall had reason to celebrate last week having been crowned winners of the annual ‘Clash of the New Breeds’ showcase which was held as part of the recent Sound of Belfast Festival.
Having been selected from over 75 entrants as one of five bands to perform at the showcase, the Dungannon based band were presented a trophy by BBC Introducing host Taylor Johnson, which also came with a cash prize, rehearsal time, a photo shoot, radio play and magazine coverage.
“It was a great opportunity to get the band out there and garner a new audience,” said singer and guitarist Harry Kerr of Dungannon.
The celebration follows previous success when, earlier this year, the band won the Yew Tree Promotions Battle of the Bands competition in Newry. “I think winning that gave us a good chance at being selected for ‘Clash of the New Breeds’,” explained Harry. “We got a lot of new followers on social media off the back of it and it wasn’t long before our debut single ‘Satan’s In My Glovebox’ was released, so it really helped in promoting that.”
To date, the band’s debut single, which was produced by Plunkett McComb at Starlite Studios, Dungannon has received over 20,000 listens on Spotify alone, and they are currently preparing to set a date for their next single ‘Obliterate’.
The band are made up of Harry Kerr on lead guitar and vocals, Leva Venckute on rhythm guitar, Eoghan Donnelly on drums and Una Campbell on bass.
Describing the band’s sound, Harry said their influences include Alice in Chains, Kyuss and Tool.
“When we started the band, we played a lot of grunge and stoner rock covers from the nineties,” he said.
“It really helped refine our sound over time so when it came to writing our own material, we knew what we wanted the band to sound like and how to go about achieving it.”
Formed in 2024, the band cut their teeth locally, thanking John McVitty at the Cookstown Rock and Blues Showcase for giving them the opportunity to play a number of supporting gigs in the town.
Such opportunities allowed the band to develop their high energy, uncompromising live act which has been popular with local audiences
