Young Sleaford band in the running to perform at Royal Albert Hall

The Shugs are a made up of 14 to 17 year olds who go to St George’s Academy and Carre’s Grammar School, rehearsing at Shug Studios on Woodbridge Road.

They recently entered the Music For Youth Festival competition, performing at the first heat in Boston, getting through to the regional contest in Birmingham due to be staged on July 6 at the CBSO centre.

If they get through this round, they will perform in the finale at the Royal Albert Hall in London in November.

The five-piece made up of Fred Sutch, 15, Henry Sutch, 17, James Roland, 14, Louis Rich, 14, and Rob Bingham, 17, are mentored by Karina Palmer, co-owner of Shug Studios and an experienced drummer who has performed with numerous bands over the years.

Karina explained: “They've been playing together for just over a year. They play a range of covers from Kings of Leon, Black Sabbath, Stevie Wonder, Arctic Monkeys and much more.

“In March, they performed at the first heat of the Music For Youth Festival competition at Haven High Academy in Boston.

“They had ten minutes to impress the judges and were one of three acts to make it to the next round.

“The boys have learnt so much from being in the band, their confidence and musicianship has grown so much.”