All this week, Glastonbury will open its Emerging Talent Competition to Irish and UK-based acts of any genre, who are willing to compete for a slot at one of the festival’s main stages.
For one week only, from 9am Monday 18th January until 5pm Monday 25th January, bands can enter the free competition that offers as well as a slot, a £5,000 Talent Development prize from PRS for Music Foundation. Two runners-up will also each be awarded a £2,500 PRS for Music Foundation Talent Development prize.
To enter, acts will need to supply a link to one original song on SoundCloud, plus a link to a video of themselves performing live (even if it’s only recorded in a bedroom) at .
Once entries are in, a panel of 40 UK and Irish music writers will compile a long list of 120 acts, which will be then whittled down to 8 by judges including Glastonbury organisers Michael and Emily Eavis, before the live finals at Pilton Working Men’s Club in April (Irish bands, you’ll have to cover your own travel to do this) decide the winning act. In both 2014 and 2015, all eight of the finalists were offered slots at that year’s Festival.
Previous winners/entrants include Stornoway, Scouting For Girls, Treetop Flyers, Ellen and the Escapades, Izzy Bizu the Subways and, last year, Declan McKenna, who has since signed a management deal with Q Prime, who also manage Metallica, Muse and Foals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1–b4m_IGRQ
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
