This year’s list of Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition finalists has been unveiled, and features Sydney band Gang of Youths, Melbourne folk band Husky and Sydney alt-pop musician Andy Bull, to name a few. The list of 50 finalists (in full below) was collated by judges from a total of 3,400 entries.
Gang Of Youths lead all finalists this year, with nods for two of their tracks. Other notable finalists include triple j‘s Unearthed Artist Of The Year Meg Mac, APRA’s 2014 Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year Louis Schoorl, APRA Professional Development Award winners Morgan Evans and Georgi Kay, plus indie folk groups The Audreys and Little May.
The winner of the 2014 Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition will join the illustrious company of past winners Megan Washington, Kimbra and Sydney band The Preatures. This year’s judging panel features songwriters, industry professionals and journalists from around the globe.
The finalists are all now in the running to win the AUD$50,000 first prize, the AUD$10,000 second prize and AUD$5,000 third prize. An Encouragement Award of AUD$2,000 will also be donated by The Preatures, who claimed top prize last year. The award will also include a production and A&R feedback package donated by APRA AMCOS and last year’s runner-up, Robert Conley.
The largest charity songwriting competition in the world, The Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition raises funds for Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Australia, who run a program which helps people with developmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Rett Syndrome and Angelman Syndrome, and disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, Dyspraxia and Spina Bifida. The competition has raised almost half a million dollars for the organisation over the past three competitions.
Jenny Morris, Chair of APRA AMCOS, has said, “This competition attracts the best of the best from around the globe. It took that talent plus time and effort on the part of the songwriters to produce this incredible mélange of music. Again the music industry shows its heart and again the less fortunate among us will benefit.”
View the 2014 Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition Finalists list in full, below.
Watch: Gang of Youths – Poison Drum
2014 Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition Finalists
All The Lights – Molly & Reuben (Molly Apirana)
Any Other Way – Andy McGarvie Band
Baby I Am Nobody Now – Andy Bull
Barrier – Juliet Oswell
Beautiful Mess – Paige Valentine
Diamond Sheets – Madeleine Brooks
Fortress – Esther Sparkes
Girlfriend – Streets of Laredo (Dave Gibson)
Hands Shake – Livi Mulholland
Heartbrokenly In Love – Mogadishu Family Band (Eric Fortaleza)
Henry – Loren Kate
Hide – Little May
Hollow – Hayley Warner
Honey – Olympia
Honey, Do You Know The Way Back Home? – Jack Carty
I Love You More – Marley Carter
In The Water – Sitara (Erin Fowler)
Ipswich – Georgi Kay
Jennifer Lawrence – Nova and the Experience (James Buckingham)
Kansas – Gang of Youths (Dave Le’aupepe)
Like A Tornado – Morgan Evans
Lullaby – Lisa Salvo
Mama, Say – Jesse Will
Middle Of A Riot – The Stoops (Matt Beaton)
Midnight Hour – Hannah Robinson
Mountain Lion – George Byrne
My Darlin’ Girl – The Audreys (Tristan Goodall)
My Grandfather – Lior
On My Own – Lucy Neville
Poison Drum – Gang of Youths (Dave Le’aupepe)
Poking Tongues – New Reptiles (Paul Gauvin)
Pull The Trigger – Apes (Lachlan Hodgson)
Rattlesnake Preacher – Krista Schmeling
Return To (feat. Tom Snowdon) – #1 Dads (Tom Iansek)
Roll Of The Top – Bullhorn (Simon Ward)
Roll Up Your Sleeves – Meg Mac
Roses – Lucy Mason
Run For Your Life – Louis Schoorl
Scum – Peta & The Wolves
Sirens – De̊ǰa (Rromarin)
Springtime Sun – Domenica
St Joan – Husky
Struggle Town – Sarah Aarons
The Records Flawed – The Delta Riggs (Michael Tramonte)
The River Song – Clancye Milne
Twin Rivers – Big Scary (Tom Iansek)
Under Water – Penelope Austin
Undone – Roberto De Sa and Alex Hope
Yeah Yeah – The Ninjas (Joshua Stewart)
You, Me, And The Sea (featuring Rachael Conway) – Jonathan Skovron
