Discover the future stars of global music!
View the nominees of the Best New Talent Award 2025, and support your favorite band with a vote!
Dive into an exclusive selection of songs from the Best New Talent Award nominees, and let their captivating melodies and diverse genres introduce you to the future of music.
We are thrilled to announce the 10 exceptional artists from France, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Latvia, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, Poland, Norway, Sweden.
UPBEAT Best New Talent 2025 artists will have the access to mentoring activities to develop their skills and competencies to help propel their international careers!
The winner will get the chance to perform at Czech Music Crossroads Festival in Ostrava, as well as receiving a gig and professional video recording at a SOFAR Budapest event. All this to help them gain a foothold on the international market.
Our expert jury consists of renowned music professionals, critics, and industry insiders who carefully evaluate the nominees and help determine the winners. They bring their extensive experience and expertise to ensure the integrity and fairness of the awards. They have selected 10 out of more than a hundred artists who have featured at any of UPBEAT’s member festivals throughout the year.
Lisa Branigan boasts extensive expertise as an event manager and programmer, adept at orchestrating seamless experiences. She is the driving force behind Re-Play Music C.I.C, a non-profit initiative dedicated to providing musical instruments to children, fostering musical education. Presently, Lisa serves as an area coordinator and production manager at Green Futures Field at Glastonbury and programs Music Education Workshops at events across the UK.
Oriol Roca i Cano cultural producer, manager, and advisor. Current roles include Advisor at Altersinèrgies, Production Manager for In-Edit, FeedDog, and Tàctica Football Films Festival, as well as Director of Festival Silenci. Past highlights include serving as Artistic Advisor for MMVV (2011–2024), Technical Producer at Palau de la Música Catalana, and Manager for acclaimed music tours.
Simon Broughton has been involved in the world music scene for over 30 years. He produced radio and TV documentaries for the BBC, was co-editor of the Rough Guide to World Music, and was founding editor of Songlines magazine, which started over 25 years ago in 1999. He was involved in the MOST Bridge for Balkan Music – and his most recent articles have been for Songlines and the Financial Times.
Vlad Yaremchuk is the programming director of Atlas Festival, the biggest music festival in Ukraine, and the partnership manager at UAME | Music Saves Ukraine, a humanitarian initiative that uses the power of music by collaborating with festivals, artists, music conferences, and organizations to raise funds for humanitarian aid in Ukraine, raise awareness about the situation in the country, and help Ukrainian artists reach international stages.
