Birchwood musician shortlisted for Glastonbury Festival's emerging talent competition

WARRINGTON singer-songwriter, 18-year-old Abi Rose Kelly has been announced as one of 90 artists out of thousands that have made it to next stage of the Glastonbury Festival’s emerging talent competition.

Picked by a judging panel made up of 30 of the UK’s best online music writers and bloggers, the winner will claim a slot on one of the main stages at the Festival as well as a £5000 Talent Development prize from PRS Foundation.
With entries submitted in January and the yearly festival cancelled for 2020 in March, the prize has been rolled over to 2021 which will no doubt mean the winner will have a whirlwind year in the lead up to what would be a performance at one of the most iconic music festivals in the world.
These acts will now be whittled down to a shortlist of just 8 acts, by judges including Emily Eavis and Glastonbury’s Head of Music Programming, Nick Dewey. The shortlist will be announced in the week commencing May 18th.
The 2019 Emerging Talent Competition winner was the soulful singer-songwriter Marie White, who has since signed with Decca Records and Universal Music Publishing Group.
Born in Yorkshire and raised in the north-west of England, it was moving to Warrington when she was 16, that reignited Abi Rose Kelly’s passion for songwriting.
The shortlisting comes hot on the heels of releasing her 2nd single Polaroids and Violence, recorded with Gareth Nuttall (The K’s, The Lottery Winners).
Often writing songs for her friends initially as jokes, opportunities to get on stage at Priestley College gave her a taste of performing live and has since continued raising the bar.
Performing vocals and playing guitar on stage, Abi, is joined on stage by musicians she has developed a strong bond with who compliment her sound. Luke Griffith (Lead Guitar), Isobelle (Bass) & Sonny Price (Drums).

Upon finding out she had been longlisted for the competition, Abi said: “It means so much to be nominated. Crazy stuff, it’s great news in such strange times.”
Admiring bands such as Blur & Fontaine’s D.C. for their storytelling abilities, Abi offers an unique perspective, to growing up in a modern society and the tribulations that come with it.
With over 60,000 streams of her debut single ‘James’ Corsa’ inspired by a lost phone and a surge in popularity, having been features on BBC Introducing and Radio Warrington, Abi Rose Kelly will be one to watch in the near future.