WYRE Forest has put forward nine musical acts for this year’s Rock the House competition making the district one of the top 10 biggest contributors to the contest.

The Rock the House competition, which is now in its third year, celebrates the best up-and-coming unsigned British artists and the live music venues that support them.

It aims to raise the political profile of the importance of intellectual property rights and live music among Parliamentarians.

Wyre Forest MP Mark Garnier helped to judge the nine acts to decide who would be put forward to represent the district.

Mr Garnier joined local experts Scott Garrett, of Kidderminster College’s MAS Records, Mat Worley, of Stourport’s Worley Strings and Things music shop, and former Kidderminster College student Lauren Wright, who is currently enjoying pop success with her debut single Kiss Me being played on Radio One.

Mr Garnier said: “It is amazing how much talent we have here in Wyre Forest. It was a real challenge trying to work out which acts we wanted to put forward for the next round.

“What makes us particularly interesting here is more than just our extensive history of popular music, it is the work being done by MAS Records.

“MAS is not just an important part of Kidderminster College from the point of view of production training, it is a serious business in its own right.”

The acts going forward are the Dale Von Minaker Band with This Summer, Fearful Fingers Harvard with Carpet Town Republic, Ellisha with Mother’s Day Song and the Boars Head in Kidderminster as best small music venue.