TAKE THE STAGE
2025 DATES:
Heat 1 - January 10th
Heat 2 - January 24th
Heat 3 - February 14th
Heat 4 - March 14th
FINAL - April 25th
Take The Stage is back for 2025! Starting in January, the competition will see young acts compete across four heats for a place in the final with the chance to play for some great prizes. So long as you are under 21 years of age, you can apply to play at Take The Stage!
During each heat every act will have their full 20 minute set recorded plus one song professionally filmed and edited. They will then receive a free mixed version of their performance as well as one live video shot and edited by our crew.
The winner of each heat is decided by a crowd vote, with the prizes in the final to be decided by representative judges. In the final, we ask representatives from each prize on offer to pick the band they think most suits their prize.
This means that there could be several prize winners in the final.
We do all we can to remain impartial throughout, and as such do not include ourselves on the judging panel as we often get to know the bands personally as the competition goes on.
Prizes TBC!
Applications are open now, just click the button below to fill in a form and we'll be in touch.
Please read our FAQ before applying!
See below for videos from previous year's Take The Stage.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Who can apply for Take The Stage?
Any musicians aged 21 and under!
I'm a solo artist but I don't have a band, can I still play?
Absolutely! Whilst the majority of the acts who play Take The Stage are bands, the competition is open to all genres and styles.
How do I apply?
Just fill in this form and we'll be in touch!
Where will it take place?
All heats and the final take place at the Neeld Community & Arts Centre, High Street, Chippenham, SN15 3ER.
How long are the sets?
Each set is 20 minutes long.
Can I play cover songs?
You can play covers but generally speaking, the judges are looking for originality and the acts who have gone on to the final in previous years are usually acts with the best original material. In short - one or two covers is fine but the more original material the better!
How does the voting work and who decides which acts go through the final?
The voting in the heats will be decided by a crowd vote; every member of the audience will be given a voting slip during the night and they will be asked to pick a winner of the heat. After the show, we count up the votes to determine the winner.
Who decides the winner in the final?
We have a team of judges each representing a prize, and each judge will pick a winner for their specific prize. This means that there won't necessarily be one outright winner and more than one act could walk away with a prize in the final!