A SWINDON guitar trio has made it through to the final round of a prestigious music competition.

Rockers YVES beat off thousands of other artists and groups to win a place in the top ten on Pirate Studios’ exclusive Prodigy Programme.

The band now has 10 days to convince the public that they deserve one of three top spot. If they win the public vote, YVES can expect one-to-one mentoring, studio time and the industry contacts that could turn them into stars.

Bass-player Mitch Donaldson, 21, from Blunsdon, said: “We’re thrilled to have made the final of the competition. It’s been amazing to see Swindon get behind us in the last round. It’s an amazing opportunity on offer, so we need Swindon’s votes one last time to win.”

Around 2,000 bands entered the Prodigy scheme. Expert judges whittled that number down to just 30. YVES won thousands of votes to make it to the final 10.

Only the three bands that win the most votes will claim the package prize. If successful, YVES stand to be mentored by some of London’s best music PRs and business heads. They include Mike Walsh, head of music at indie station Radio X, and Liam Gallagher’s press bulldog Katie Gwyther.

Robbie Duncan of Pirate Studios said: “These artists will be given everything they need to take their careers to the next level.”

YVES has already won just over 1,000, putting the band in third place.

Initially up against hundreds of acts, YVES was put through to the final 30 by a judging panel that included Brit Award-winner Kate Nash and Reverend and the Makers frontman John McClure.

Kate Nash, who scored a chart-topping hit with Foundations, said: “I’m so excited to be a part of this. What Pirate Studios is doing for the music scene is the most supportive and coolest thing I’ve seen in years.”

YVES has already been at Pirate Studios’ London headquarters, recording their songs and shooting new video in a bid to help them win the public vote.

David Borrie, co-founder of Pirate Studios, said of the Prodigy competition established by his firm: “We have 25,000 plus musicians in our community. A lot are producing amazing music. We find it incredible some of these guys aren’t already household names, so we thought it would be awesome if we could be the ones to give them a helping hand.”

YVES frontman Harry Roke, 21, said before the band made it through to the final ten: “We wouldn’t ever expect to be nominated for anything, so it’s always nice. It’s just crazy. We’re really working hard pushing the competition out to as many people as we can.

“Winning would mean so much - the mentoring that we would receive and the support we would get from it. We try and work as hard as we can.”

The band has had a busy year, recently finishing its first nationwide headline tour. A homecoming gig at The Victoria in Old Town saw YVES play to a sell-out crowd. Singer Harry said the tour had been an amazing experience.

The Prodigy public vote closes on Wednesday, May 16. The winner will be announced two days later. To vote for YVES, visit: www.piratestudios.co.uk/prodigy.