After heated deliberation, the Vodacom Open the City five finalists have been chosen and they are: December Streets, Timo ODV, Nomadic Orchestra, Grassy Spark and Early Hours.

This year’s hotly debated judging session included Catherine Grenfell (5FM), Tecla Ciolfi (Texx and the City), Sophie Abendanon (Seed Experiences), Charlotte Kanter (Morse Code), Natasha Goosen (One-Eyed Jack) and Hein Ferreira (Vodacom).

Public voting has opened and there are two ways to vote for the band you want to Open The City on Sunday, 4 October: Visit www.vitc-competitions.co.za, and click to vote for your band (make sure you read the Ts&Cs) or SMS the band’s name to 48477:

  • SMS ‘December Streets’ to 48477; 
  • SMS ‘Timo ODV’ to 48477;
  • SMS ‘Nomadic Orchestra’ to 48477; 
  • SMS ‘Grassy Spark’ to 48477; or
  • SMS ‘Early Hours’ to 48477.

The standard of entries this year was nothing short of phenomenal and the judges had a tough time choosing the five finalists but now it’s up to you, the fans, to choose the winner. In 2014 fans got to see all the finalists at an exclusive Open the City live show. This year not only will they be able to watch the five finalists live at a gig on Sunday, 20 September but we want the public to get to know the #VOTC2015 finalists, so Vodacom is creating videos of each act covering one of our #VITC2015 acts.

To check out the videos, visit www.vitc-competitions.co.za, and by voting, you stand the chance to win two tickets to Vodacom in The City and meet the winning local act backstage.

Voting closes at midnight on Sunday, 20 September and the winning band, with the most votes, will be announced on Tuesday, 22 September.

Open the City is brought to you by Vodacom, headline sponsor of Vodacom In the City 2015, a Seed Experiences event.

For more information, visit www.vitc.co.za. Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook or on Twitter using the #VITC2015 hashtag.