Applicants have until Wednesday 18 September to submit two original songs and must have a 30-minute set of original material they can perform at the Festival. There is no cost to enter and full details are on the St Kilda Festival website.
Up to 10 emerging musicians will take to the New Music Stage on Day Two of St Kilda Festival, performing in front of loads of adoring live music fans at the beachside neighbourhood.
The winning act, as voted by the Festival audience, will take home a $5,000 cash prize and book their spot on one of the key stages at St Kilda Festival in 2026.
Proudly presented by City of Port Phillip, St Kilda Festival is Australia's largest free community festival, annually discovering and nurturing fresh talent while providing a platform to share their music and perform to an enthusiastic audience.
Since its inception in 2007, the New Music Competition has helped launch the careers of some of Australia's most esteemed artists including Missy Higgins, Baker Boy and Client Liaison.
Baker Boy won the New Music Competition in 2018 and has since performed at the 2021 AFL Grand Final, won 'Artist of the Year' and 'Album of the Year' at the 2022 National Indigenous Music Awards and toured internationally. He has collaborated with renowned artists such as Bernard Fanning, G Flip and Powderfinger, and continues to draw massive crowds.
St Kilda Festival Lead Sullivan Patten said the New Music Competition has been a celebrated part of St Kilda Festival programming for 18 years.
"Each year, the high calibre of entrants to the New Music Competition demonstrates the abundance of creativity and talent that exists in the Australian live music scene.
"We're always proud to showcase a diverse selection of up-and-comers at the Festival, creating opportunities for emerging artists to be on the bill at a major music event and to provide audiences with a chance to see budding talent that they otherwise might not discover," Patten said.
St Kilda Festival brings significant economic benefits to St Kilda, celebrates and promotes Australian talent and consistently attracts more than 350,000 visitors to the foreshore.
The Festival also enhances St Kilda's reputation as a live music hub, strengthened by Council declaring parts of St Kilda as Victoria's first live music precinct in 2023.
