London – Ask any new band that question and you might expect to be deafened by the squeak of Converse as a disorderly queue is rapidly formed. The annual Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition though gives unsigned acts based in the UK and Ireland the chance to do exactly that. The winner will be awarded a slot on one of the main stages at this summer’s Festival which takes place between 24th – 28th June, while it is also customary for several finalists to get sufficiently noticed to secure a spot on one of the smaller stages.
The competition is free-to-enter and the winning act will also be awarded a £5,000 PRS for Music Foundation Talent Development prize, to help elevate their songwriting and performing to the next level. Two runners-up will each receive a £2,500 PRS for Music Foundation Talent Development prize. Acts have just one week to enter from 9am Monday 19th until 5pm Monday 26th January 2015 via the Glastonbury website and any musical genre is welcomed. Past ETC winners include Stornoway, Scouting for Girls, Treetop Flyers, the Subways, Bridie Jackson & The Arbour and last year’s victors, M+A.
Entrants have to submit a link to one original song on SoundCloud, plus a video link of some form of live performance, even if only recorded in a bedroom! Once the entries are in, a panel of 40 of the UK’s top music writers including Best New Bands’ London correspondent, Tony Hardy, will help compile a long list of 120 acts. This will then be whittled down to a shortlist of just eight artists by judges including Glastonbury organisers Michael and Emily Eavis. The chosen eight then battle it out in April at the live finals at Pilton Working Men’s Club, close to the Worthy Farm festival site, to determine the outright winner.
Glastonbury co-organiser Emily Eavis commented: “New music is such an important part of Glastonbury, and the Emerging Talent Competition is always an incredible way for us to find fresh talent from across the musical spectrum. In fact, eight of the acts that entered in 2014 ended up with slots at Glastonbury 2014. I can’t wait to hear who we discover this year.”
Tony Hardy
Tony’s great passion in life is music and nothing gives him more pleasure than unearthing good, original new music and championing independent musicians. His association with Best New Bands brings great opportunities for this. He also writes for Consequence of Sound and is a judge for Glastonbury Festival’s Emerging Talent Competition.
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