Glastonbury announces Emerging Talent Competition 2015

Glastonbury Festival has announced the details for this year’s Emerging Talent Competition, which allows new artists the chance to compete for a slot on the coveted Glastonbury lineup.

The winning act will play one of Worthy Farm’s main stages as well as earning themselves a pretty handy £5,000 courtesy of the PRS for Music Foundation Talent Development prize. Two runners-up will also be granted £2,500 from the same fund.

The competition is free to enter, with acts required to submit a SoundCloud link and live performance clip between January 19th and January 26th. A panel of music writers will then select 120 acts to make up the longlist, before a final 8 will play at Pilton Working Men’s Club as part of a live final in April.

Glastonbury co-organiser Emily Eavis said of the competition: “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.”

Lionel Richie is the only name to be confirmed for this year’s festival, following in the footsteps of Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers in playing the Sunday afternoon slot. The Dalai Lama is also expected to make an appearance, after posting a since-deleted message on his official website.

Glastonbury 2015 takes place between June 24th and June 28th. Read DIY’s review of the 2014 event here.