Horsham busker one step away from performing at London’s O2

Tom Stephenson (aka Busker Tom) wowed the crowd and judging panel at the Open Mic UK Regional Showcase, and he is now close to performing at the National Grand Final.

Open Mic UK 2014 is the biggest search for unsigned talent in the country, and travels around every year in search for the UK’s best singers, singer-songwriters, rappers and vocalists of all genres performing either covers or their own original material.

Tom, who lives in Crawley, said: “By providing small percussion instruments for families to join in with I have created quite a unique and popular act which is always well received and has led to further bookings at events and functions.

“I’m really hoping my success in this competition will open more opportunities for me to pursue my career in music be it song-writing, function band entertainment or children’s entertainment!

“For an added twist I’m going to upload videos of two of my songs on youtube (via my Facebook page - Busker Tom) and whichever video receives the most views I will perform for my audition.”

The competition is spearheaded by Future Music. Over the years the competition and Future Music have discovered some of the best new talent and propelled them to the big stage, working closely with Sony, Universal, Warner and Syco.

Thousands of hopefuls entered Open Mic UK nationwide and the best unsigned singers from across the country were chosen to perform at the live Regional Final shows.

Busker Tom performed in front of a capacity audience and professional judging panel recently at Hove Town Hall.

He’s now set to perform at the Area Finals for the chance to progress to the National Grand Final, where he will be fighting to win a £5,000 cash prize to spend on the development of his act.

For more information go to the website www.openmicuk.co.uk.