As festival season gets into full swing, June is always alive with opportunities for songwriters and composers. This year sees a wealth of creative openings, from the first-ever edition of SXSW London through to The Ivors Academy opening entries for this year’s Ivors Classical Awards.
Here’s five key opportunities for music creators to get stuck into in June.
Attend the first ever SXSW London
SXSW has long championed new music discovery from its base in Austin, Texas, and this week sees the inaugural SXSW London take place on this side of the pond.
Similar to the Stateside festival, the new multi-venue event in the capital will showcase a diverse line-up of emerging and established artists. Mabel, Tems and Sasha Keable are among the leading live performers, while the PRS for Music-supported British Music Embassy stage kicks off today (2 June) with sets from the likes of Beth McCarthy, Ellur and Joviale.
SXSW London will also play host to an array of music-themed panels as part of its stacked conference line-up. Speakers include ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus, POWER UP’s Ben Wynter and BBC Introducing's Abbie McCarthy. You can find out more information about SXSW London, which runs through to Saturday (7 June), here.
Boost your knowledge at IMSTA FESTA
Whether you’re a songwriter, musician, producer, engineer or music student, you’ll find something relevant to your own creative journey at IMSTA FESTA. Taking place on 7 June in London, the event will feature masterclasses, industry panels and software exhibits as part of a ‘celebration of music tech that brings manufacturers face-to-face with their product users’.
The day also offers a chance to get your own work noticed through a special songwriting competition. Part of a global series of events, regional winners will then be entered into the annual IMSTA songwriting competition where the overall winner will be awarded a collection of cutting-edge software packages worth over £5000.
IMSTA FESTA is a free event and open to all within the music-making community — to attend, you just need to register over on the IMSTA website.
Enter your work for The Ivors Classical Awards 2025
Presented by The Ivors Academy, each year The Ivors Classical Awards shines a light on creative excellence within British and Irish composing. Previous winners include the likes of Anna Meredith, Jonny Greenwood and Sir John Tavener, while over 80% of the winners in 2024 had previously been supported by PRS Foundation.
Entries are now open for the 2025 awards — which will take place in London on 11 November — honouring works that were premiered in the UK between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025. In order to be eligible, composers must be British, Irish or UK resident, while members of the Ivors Academy can enter works with a discount depending on their membership level.
To see the full range of guidelines and submit your work — which can be done until 5pm on 4 July — you should head over to the Ivors' website.
Apply for instrumental prizes from the Royal Philharmonic Society
Aimed at supporting the development of outstanding young musicians who are just establishing their careers, the RPS is now accepting applications from those specialising in violin, brass and chamber ensembles.
Development funding of up to £1500 will be made available to successful applicants in both the Emily Anderson Violin Prize and the Philip Jones Brass Prize. The Henderson Chamber Ensemble Award is also now open to entries, with funding of up to £5,000 available for emerging UK-based ensembles which can be any combination of string, wind, brass, keyboard or percussion instruments.
In order to apply, applicants — who must be aged between 18 to 30 and be based in the UK — need to submit recent footage of their playing and answer some brief questions. Shortlisted applicants will then be invited to a friendly audition scheduled to take place later this year. Full application criteria can be found here.
Apply to play at Focus Wales 2026
Over 100 showcase slots are available at next year’s edition of Focus Wales, which will take place across multiple venues in Wrexham from 7-9 May 2026.
Open to artists across all genres, this is a great opportunity to land a slot on a tastemaking line-up and catch the attention of the wider music industry. Successful applicants will each receive a performance fee and festival wristbands to enjoy the wider line-up and conference events at Focus Wales.
Interested in applying? Head on over here to find out more.
Main image credit: Hogan Media/Shutterstock
