The 2022 Youth Discoveries ~The Road to Summerfolk competition launched April 1st by accepting online submissions of performances from youth ages 14 to 22. Performers will be selected from this submission process to perform at an in-person finale on May 28, 2022 at the Owen Sound Legion.

The Youth Discoveries program began over a decade ago as a competition for young performers to win an opportunity to play at the Summerfolk Music and Crafts Festival. The program has expanded to include mentorship, industry networking opportunities and various workshops in addition to the annual competition.

In 2020 and 2021 the program was cancelled due to the pandemic. In 2022 Youth Discoveries-The Road to Summerfolk is offering a hybrid model where performers submit their recorded live performances online. Twelve finalists will then be selected to perform in person on May 28th and up to five winning acts will get to play at the Summerfolk Music and Crafts festival this summer at Kelso Beach at Nawash Park on August 19th-21st.

Previous Youth Discoveries winners have included Moscow Apartment (Canadian Folk Music Awards 2017’s “Young Performers of the Year”), Benjamin Dakota Rogers, Marshall Veroni, Basset, Madison Galloway, Emily Gilbart, Miranda Journey, Chicks with Picks, Shane Pendergast, Paige Warner, Missy Bauman and many others.

“We’ve seen some incredibly talented young performers come though Youth Discoveries over the years and have since seen some of these youth really accelerate their music careers. It’s a wonderful gift to see these young artists gain experience and confidence on their musical journey,” said Kimmer Trombley, Youth Discoveries Committee Coordinator. “Even those who do not advance to play at Summerfolk, still benefit from mentorship, networking opportunities and workshops offered throughout the year. We are very excited to see what our young people have been working on in the past two years and are eager to get this program up and running again.”

Performers aged 14-22 can submit application videos and learn more about the program by visiting www.summerfolk.org/youth. Submissions for 2022’s program will be accepted from April 1-30, 2022 with finalists announced May 15th.

All ages are welcome to attend the finale show where each act will perform 2 songs. The winners will be announced that day. Admission to the finale performance is by donation.

source: media release, GBFS