Call for entries: Casio Sessions singer and songwriter competition

Casio Sessions is a singer-songwriter competition aimed at piano playing musicians. It will offer a platform for artists to perform in an intimate setting at the London G-Shock, Carnaby Street Store, on 21 September.

The competition is open to anyone aged more than 16 years to perform original compositions to a panel of judges and musical peers.

Entry at the Casio Sessions Live Final is by ticket only and not open to the general public.

Who can enter?

• Any piano playing singer-songwriter or duo aged 16 years or older.
• Any entrants below 18 years old who are selected to perform at the live final will need to be accompanied by a parent/guardian who is aged 18 years or older.

How to enter

Musicians who meet the criteria and wish to take part in the Casio Sessions are invited to submit an application and supporting video audition of an original composition via the sign up form before 31 August. The video audition must be of the entrant’s own material (no covers allowed).

Twelve carefully selected finalists will be invited to perform at the Casio Sessions event on 21 September.

What’s in it for you?

The winner of the live final will receive a brand new Casio Privia PX-S7000 Digital Piano worth £2 249 (about $2 890) and £500 which will be transferred directly to a nominated bank account within one week after the event. In addition to this, all performing artists in the live Casio Sessions final will receive professional photography and video recordings of their performance for them to keep and use to further promote their musical journey.

Selection process

The judging panel consists of representatives from Casio Music and Loop Music who are musicians with industry experience. Performances will be awarded points based on a set criteria including creativity, song structure and melodic appeal and more. See terms and conditions for more detail.

Successful entrants will be notified via email before 4 September with further instructions and detail surrounding performance requirements. Twelve selected finalists will be invited to perform at the Casio Sessions live final.

Can entrants use other equipment?

A PX-S7000 Digital Piano will be available on stage for participants to use for the live performance, along with a microphone setup. Participants are free to include their own gear in a performance (subject to prior approval). However, they should note that there will be limited time to set up on the day of approximately two to three minutes before their time slot.

The organisers encourage all entrants to perform stripped back, piano-based acoustic style versions of any original material. No cover songs are permitted.

View the original call here.