A very pleasant evening at Boisdale in Canary Wharf for the Drake Yolanda Awards event, which celebrates emerging artists plus offers a rewarding platform for developing their careers.
The Award is a talent development grant, which aims to financially support talented emerging artists who are creating great music, actively performing, and want to pursue a career in music.
In 2022, 10 emerging artists will be awarded £3,000 each to support them in areas including touring, artistic development, recording, music videos, branding, marketing, and the purchase of new equipment.
This award is open to emerging artists aged 16 to 30 across any genre of music (although classical musicians are not eligible evidently). Applicants, who must be resident in the UK, can be singers, rappers, instrumentalists and groups.
Leading the organisers are James JP Drake, founder and chair of the Drake Foundation, which was originally created to understand and improve the long-term health consequences of a career in sport for professional athletes; plus superb jazz, reggae and soul musician and media broadcaster, Yolanda Brown.
The panel of judges include Amy Lame (Mayor Of London’s Night Tsar), Ben Lewis (CEO Young Voices), Joel Borquaye (Senior Editor, Spotify London) and singer/songwriter/musician Joe Stilgoe.
Performing on the night were the notable award winners: John Dhali, Loba, Ceitidh Mac, B-Ahwe, Ana de Llor, Kymara, Finn Doherty, Erica Manzoli, Jerub and Renato Paris.
My thanks to Rupert Burley of the Dynamic Agency who acted as an excellent host on our table.
