A BAND of young musicians from Gornal and Sedgley have won the chance to play the biggest gig of their lives.

The Harlequins are getting ready to take the stage at the LG Arena for the OMG Live under 18’s music festival, where they will be sharing the line up with stars including top-ten acts Lawson and Union J.

The Black Country youngsters won their chance to play at the prestigious event after battling through an X-Factor style competition, which concluded with a final at Stourbridge’s Base Studios in February.

Harlequins bassist, James Williams, said: “We were up against ten bands initially at Netherton Arts Centre before progressing to the final four at The Base.

“The standard of the performances was really high, we’re just so thrilled to be playing at the LG in front of thousands of people, it’s a great opportunity for us.”

The Harlequins are all aged 17 and have been together for two years, they play 60s influenced blues-psychedelic rock.

OMG Live will take place at the Birmingham venue on Thursday April 24 and will feature 30 bands performing nine hours of live music across three stages.

It promises to be an Easter treat especially for young people, entry is restricted to the secondary school and sixth form age group and music fans will be able to see their heroes in an alcohol and smoke-free environment.

The Harlequins will be performing on the Music Hub stage along with other young West Midlands artists including The Castaways, The Fix, Tan.Trum, Interlinked, Raye Harvey, Hayley Jones, The Prophets, Heist, Major 6, The Strike, Tinned Astronaut, Virtual Sanity, Young Braves and The Tormentors.