Consequence of Sound’s Tony Hardy was one of 40 UK based writers engaged by Glastonbury Festival to select a long list of 120 artists from over 8,000 entries to the 2013 Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition. The baton was then passed to a smaller judging panel to settle on just eight acts for the live finals to be held on April 6th.
I’m sure like all the first round judges, I was hoping that at least one of my three picks was going to make the final eight. After a quick scan of the results, however, I felt the pain of an X-Factor mentor who has to watch their last act bow out. None of my three – Big Tent & The Gypsy Lantern, By The Sea, and Ella Janes – made it. A little later, a reality check set in. There were eight guys feeling elated, relieved, or just plain smug as they had a finalist through, leaving the 32 of us with pencils to be turned in.
In any contest there are winners and losers. All those acts who got through to the 120 should remain proud, and if they worked their social media enough, they might also have notched up many more views, plays, and likes. Let’s also wish that they now appear on the radar of bookers, promoters, or even labels. In a business where you largely make your own luck, my hope is that these artists can carry on the craft of making music with renewed enthusiasm and belief.
So on to the eight finalists who in no particular order are: A Band Called Wanda, Black Balloons, Bridie Jackson & Arbour, The Dancers, Isaiah Dreads, Lillian Todd Jones, Port Isla, and Rhys Lloyd Morgan. Check out their winning entries here:
What do you think? Leave a comment below if any of these songs hit the mark for you. The live finals will take place at Pilton Working Men’s Club on Saturday, April 6th with a live stream on the official Glastonbury website. The winning act will then get the chance to play a main stage set at this year’s festival.
The last word should go to Glastonbury organizer, Emily Eavis, who had the unenviable task of reducing 120 to eight: “This year the standard was particularly high and we had a real struggle to cut it down to only 8 finalists, but we are extremely happy with the finalists and have had them on repeat here in the farmhouse for the last few days. We look forward to the live finals next month. Thank you to everyone who entered – and to our amazing panel of judges for narrowing down the thousands of entrants to such a great long list.”
