Hard Rock Cafe Glasgow's battle of the bands winners Moonlight Zoo and Sara 'N' Junbug one step closer to winning trip to New York

Sara 'N' Junbug performing at the Hard Rock Cafe Battle of the Bands

Two Scottish bands have taken a step closer to winning the chance to play in front of top music industry executives on an all-expenses paid trip to New York.

Moonlight Zoo and Sara ‘N’ Junbug were voted the top two acts in a battle of the bands at Glasgow’s Hard Rock Cafe last night.

They each left with a cheque for $1,000 and a space in the public vote which sees them face of with bands from five other cities across the world for the top prize – which also includes $15,000 in cash.

Hosted by Scottish radio presenter and DJ Jim Gellatly, the bands were put to the test and judged by The View’s Kieren Webster, radio presenter Lynne Hoggan and musician Morgan Woods.

The bands had to impress the judges as well as the crowd, as audience response counted towards the final vote.

Speaking about their win, Moonlight Zoo said: “There’s only one thing to say right now… woooo!”

Sara ‘N’ Junbug said: “My mum’s really excited, thanks so much for everyone to coming out and thanks the judges.”

Sara’s mum Eileen Murray added: “I’m ecstatic, I was in tears, I won’t sleep tonight and I’m working tomorrow. ”

Glasgow was host to one of six events, alongside fellow musical cities Nashville, Seattle, Sydney, Moscow and Curitiba.

Artists performed their own creative take on well-known songs, by bringing them to life in a different genre.

They covered a wide range of genres and showed their diverse musical talents, performing songs from the likes of Madonna, Chaka Khan and James Brown, plus more contemporary covers by Billie Eilish, The Weeknd and Portugal. The Man.

Moonlight Zoo even surprised the crowd with a rendition of the infamous ‘Pancake Song’ from the movie Matilda – ‘Send Me On My Way’ by Rusted Root, getting the night off to a truly spectacular start.

Paisley band The Asuras kicked off with The Weeknd’s ‘Can’t Feel My Face’ and Madonna’s ‘Hung Up’, while Sara ‘N’ Junbug thrilled the crowd with their cover of Billie Eilish’s ‘When The Party’s Over’.

Final band Chris Greig & The Merchants got the crowd rocking with a James Brown cover – ‘I Feel Good’.

Fans from around the world will have the opportunity to vote for their favourite artists after watching each band’s online submission at www.hardrockcafe.com.

Voting opens on May 1.

The top three bands named as finalists will receive an all-expenses paid trip to New York City to perform at Hard Rock Cafe New York, $15,000 cash and performance time in front of leading music industry executives.