Glastonbury have announced the eight finalists in their Emerging Talent Competition, with the winner set to secure a spot at this year’s festival.
The final eight were chosen from thousands of acts who entered the competition, with a final set to take place on April 26 in Pilton, Somerset. The winners will be given a slot on one of the main stages at Glastonbury 2025 and will win a £5,000 Talent Development Prize from the PRS Foundation.
The finalists are: Air Drawn Dagger, Ari Tsugi, Eli Dayo, Mali Hâf, Nat Oaks, Master Peace, Sarah Meth and Westside Cowboy.
Check out all eight acts in the Spotify playlist below.
We’re very pleased to reveal the 8 finalists for our 2025 Emerging Talent Competition: @AirDrawnDagger_, Ari Tsugi, Eli Dayo, @mali_haf, Nat Oaks, @MasterPeaceLDN, Sarah Meth & @westsidecowboyy
Listen to them here! https://t.co/1Of5tEoFAb
The winners chosen at the live finals… pic.twitter.com/R8lvHzrsWM
— Glastonbury Festival (@glastonbury) April 4, 2025
Two runners up will each receive a £2,500 PRS Foundation Talent Development prize, and a judging panel including festival organisers Emily and Michael Eavis narrowed down a longlist of 90 acts.
London indie musician Master Peace – real name Peace Okezie – released his debut album ‘How To Make A Master Peace’ in 2024, which included a feature from Georgia, and has previously toured with The Streets. Speaking to NME about the album, he said: “I remember when Arctic Monkeys’ first album came out. It was a real moment in time, and was a cultural reset. I wanted to make an album that’s a cultural reset for Gen Z kids of the current day and age. I want them to say, ‘When this album came out, it changed the way we all thought.’”
Westside Cowboy were featured in NME’s 100 Emerging Artists For 2025, with the Manchester band being described as “just one of the new acts heralding a gloriously ramshackle new era of ‘90s-styled slacker rock. Cue the impossibly long song titles and whimsical parentheticals – they call it ‘Britainicana’ and really, who are we to argue?”
Elsewhere, Sheffield angsty electro-emo band Air Drawn Dagger are on the list of eight finalists, as are Ari Tsugi, a psychedelic jazz band with members from Glasgow, London, Paris and Marseille.
Soulful singer-songwriter Eli Dayo makes the list, alongside 24-year-old Cardiff R&B artist Mali Hâf, the dexterous British-Ghanaian rapper Nat Oaks and the London-based idiosyncratic musician and producer Sarah Meth.
The Emerging Talent Competition was launched in 2004 and previous finalists include Mercury Prize winners English Teacher, Flohio, Declan McKenna, She Drew The Gun, Scouting For Girls, The Subways and Izzy Bizu.
Glastonbury returns to Worthy Farm in Somerset from June 25 to 29, ahead of a fallow year in 2026. Tickets sold out last November, but the official resales are expected to take place in April (visit here for more info).
Neil Young, The 1975 and Olivia Rodrigo are topping the bill, with other big names set to include Loyle Carner, Charli XCX, The Prodigy, Biffy Clyro, The Maccabees, Lucy Dacus, Father John Misty, RAYE, Wolf Alice, The Prodigy, Doechii, St. Vincent, Deftones, Scissor Sisters, The Libertines, Wet Leg, Weezer, AJ Tracey, Nile Rodgers & Chic, Future Islands, JADE, TV On The Radio, Self Esteem, CMAT, Blossoms, Jorja Smith and Turnstile.
