Pick of the Picnic's first showcase in Crawdaddy on Thursday

Judges from King Kong Club, 02 and Heineken Music will ultimately select what act earns the much coveted slot at Electric Picnic, and the winner will be announced on August 19.

The first showcase takes place this Thursday, July 22 at 8pm in Crawdaddy. The featured acts are Grades Of Shade, Goatboy, Fighting Spider and The Spikes.

Grades of Shade have been compared to Groove Armada and Massive Attack and are renowned for their amazing live performances. The Herald and The Star are amongst the publications championing their sound with the latter giving their debut album a very nice 4/5 review.

Goatboy is the moniker of Dublin born artist Mark O'Sullivan. His music has been compared to the likes of Fleet Foxes, Arcade Fire and The Low Anthem. Goatboy was the special guest KT Tunstall in the Olympia last June and has more recently supported The Ambience Affair in Whelan's. His debut EP Moon After Yule was released in January 2010 to rave reviews. August will see the release of his second EP with a full Irish tour to follow.

Fighting Spiders are a Waterford based Electro-Pop four piece together for a year or two - bringing out their debut album Tarantism in the Autumn. In recent weeks Fighting Spiders have been spreading the word of Tarantism with live shows capturing the infectious beats and relentless melodies that have become their trademark- sparking comparisons with Depeche Mode and Daft Punk.

The Spikes have been hard at it on the scene for a few years now and after taking some time out, things are back on the up for the band. They’ve been signed to a management deal in Hamburg, Germany and have even toured Russia this year.

Only one act will be chosen for the final on August 19th when the winner of the slot on the Crawdaddy stage at Electric Picnic will be announced.

The other showcases take place on July 29, August 3 and August 11 in Crawdaddy and entry is free.