A mighty performance from Mister Co took out the title last year! The 2025 Emerging Artists Stage winner could be you!
It’s that time of year again as the Geelong waterfront is activated by summer sun-soaked events. A local favourite is Festival of Sails. The Royal Yacht Club (RGYC) have a gigantic program of world-class sailing experiences on Corio Bay, hospitality havens and live music and entertainment for all ages on offer for 2025.
We have once again teamed up with the annual festival to bring the local flavour to the stage with the Emerging Artist Stage in an expanded format. 2025 sees fellow local champion of music, media and all things local, K rock 95.5 join us in the tent as local artists test their talent for the competition title, this time for two days and with multiple divisions.
Forte and K rock 95.5 Presents Emerging Artist Stage
- When: Saturday 25 January 2025: Emerging Artists Series | Sunday 26 January 2025: We Are the Youth! Series
- Where: Tipi on the Bay at Fairne Park, Geelong Waterfront
- Applications: Open now, apply here.
Keep up with the latest music news, festivals, interviews and reviews here.
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Split across two of the festival days on Saturday 25 January and Sunday 26 January, the Emerging Artists Stage will see more opportunities for local talent to try out their material in front of hundreds of festival punters with the overall festival attracting more than 300 entries, 3,000 competitors and 100,000 visitors annually to the regional city.
Seeing the level of Geelong and surrounds emerging talent flourish over the last twelve months, the stage will be divided into two competition series. The first is the Emerging Artists Series that you know and love. Open to all ages with performances on Saturday 25 January, the Emerging Artists Series is for fresh new talent trying to build their profile as songwriters, artists and bands.
Sunday 26 January sees the introduction of the We Are the Youth! Series for aspiring artists aged 12 – 17 years. It’s a great opportunity for school aged acts to build their performing resume whilst also showing what they have to offer. Both days will take place at Tipi on the Bay, with 8-10 performers each day playing 20-minute sets from 1:00 pm – 6:30 pm.
Last years competition was gigantic with Mister Co ultimately taking out the crown, and Magdalia and Saint Victoire coming in as runner-ups. Since then Mister Co have skyrocketed, their debut headline tour selling out, a live album to their catalogue and most recently they received airplay and an interview with Triple M.
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Fellow Emerging Artists stage alumni includes Wild Gloriosa who has had a, true to name, wild trajectory since applying. She has graced the stage of Queenscliff Music Festival, was a recipient of the GRID series grant, is part of the mammoth ALWAYS LIVE 2024 program and most recently won the Diaspora Award at the 2024 Music Victoria Awards. Wild Gloriosa was a runner up in 2023, with Jacqui Lumsden taking the crown. Lumsden has also shot to superstardom having released her debut ep Enthusiasm and winning over crowds during the Strictly Live Battle of the Bands.
This years Festival of Sails marks an exciting milestone for the Emerging Artist Stage with the co-presentation between K rock alongside Forte Magazine bringing even more exposure and a bigger prize pool for the talented performers. Winners will receive $500 cash, features in Forte Magazine, and airtime on K rock 95.5, with two runners-up earning $250 each and editorial mentions. The overall winner will also secure a spot on the Festival of Sails main stage in 2026.
Applications are now open for the Emerging Artists Stage across the two categories. Entries close on Wednesday 15 January 2025, so don’t miss your chance to be a part of this exciting event.
Apply for the Festival of Sails Forte Magazine and K rock 95.5 Presents Emerging Artists Stage here.
