COPC rocks! Student band nominated for Portsmouth Music Awards
PUBLISHED 24-02-2026
A band featuring two City of Portsmouth College students has been nominated twice for the 2026 Portsmouth Music Awards – and you can vote for them to win!
Kilowatt, who are gaining plenty of attention in the local music scene, are nominated for Best Song and Young Act of the Year at the ceremony, which takes place on May 27.
“To even be nominated for one Portsmouth Music Award is something we never thought would happen,” said founding member Jack Jardine. “Since our image and our style is so far out of the norm for Portsmouth's mainstream, we were used to sitting on the sidelines. So, when we were nominated for both Best Song AND Young Act of The Year, it sent us into shock! And now we got a taste, we want to take home the gold and win our categories, showing Portsmouth that the metal community in the city is bigger than the mainstream cares to admit. We WILL bring metal to the mainstream.”
Kilowatt was formed by Jack and ex-frontman Ellis Corey, both now at COPC, in secondary school, forming initially to compete in Portsmouth Music Festival. They then met drummer Jacob White, also a COPC student, and guitarist Sam Brook-Glazier. After school finished they got to work on their debut single “Fall”, the song nominated for Best Song.
Their current line-up comprises Jack (lead guitar), Jacob (drummer), Sam (lead guitar 2), Blake Lockton (bass) and Dylan Lennards Crawford (singer), with Ellis singing on their nominated track. They describe their sound as within the modern metalcore genre, being heavily inspired by bands such as Bring me The Horizon, Architects and Spiritbox.
Jack and Jacob are making the most of their COPC courses in Music Technology and Music Performance to enhance their stagecraft and quality of their sound.
“These courses have inspired and pushed out the creativity and the stagecraft that we needed to get where we are, as well as giving me some very important and useful connections with music venues and studios,” said Jack. “The best part for us is the amount of experience you gain from both courses, with music performance getting us in front of crowds of 400-plus at the Wedgewood Rooms, and music tech giving me the tools to help our producer create the songs that Kilowatt takes to the stage.”
It’s a been a busy time for the band, who closed out 2025 with a headliner slot in Southampton as well as two sold out gigs at Southsea Cinema, a packed gig at The Loft and a main stage slot at IceBreaker Festival. They’ve also had airtime on local stations Express FM and Victory Radio.
But Kilowatt aren’t resting on their laurels.
“Our only goal for the future is just to be bigger than we were yesterday,” said Jack. “We want to climb the industry and put Portsmouth on the map for metal and alternative music, while also creating the music we love and getting the crowd as frantic as ever! Our newest batch of music is nearly ready for the masses to hear, with our London concert, and many more gigs on their way for you to hear them live!”
Check out Kilowatt on Instagram, and you can vote for them on the Portsmouth Music Awards page now – but be quick as public voting closes soon!
