The SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas, has been a launchpad for some of music’s biggest names, with artists like Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Chance the Rapper, and Megan Thee Stallion all skyrocketing after taking the stage. Think about it – these weren’t household names when they first showed up. Since 1987, SXSW has turned Austin into a global stage where rising stars make their mark, with musicians like John Mayer signing his first record deal after his 2000 performance, and Kid Cudi and Billie Eilish also getting their start there. Let’s be real, the festival is legendary for a reason – it’s where the industry goes hunting for the next big thing.
South by Southwest (SXSW): Where Industry Legends Are Born
SXSW, first held in 1987, has grown massively with around 280,000 people attending the ten-day festival in 2019, featuring 2,000-plus acts performing across Austin alongside film, TV, comedy showcases, and tech conferences. The 2025 festival welcomed groundbreaking artists spanning genres and continents, from buzzy regional Mexican singer Justin Morales to Dublin punk band Gurriers, alongside Middle Eastern-influenced Indonesian psychedelic funk band Ali and Montreal’s angular art-punk ensemble La Sécurité. In 2025, international acts made up 35% of the music lineup, more than ever before. This year’s edition reportedly saw 1,012 bands showcasing, creating nearly endless opportunities for discovery across multiple venues every single day.
Glastonbury’s Emerging Talent Competition: The UK’s Fast Track to Fame
Glastonbury’s Emerging Talent Competition, supported by PRS for Music and PRS Foundation, gives new UK and Ireland-based acts of any musical genre the chance to compete for a slot on one of the festival’s main stages. The winner receives a £5,000 Talent Development prize from PRS Foundation, while two runners-up each receive £2,500. In 2025, Manchester-based ‘Britainacana’ band Westside Cowboy won the competition after the live final at Pilton Working Men’s Club, earning a slot on the Woodsies Stage in June. Recent finalists include 2022 runners-up English Teacher, who won the 2024 Mercury Prize, rapper Flohio who won the Music Moves Europe Talent Award in 2020, and singer-songwriter Declan McKenna who won in 2015 and subsequently released three successful albums. Honestly, the competition has an incredible track record of picking winners who actually go somewhere.
The Great Escape Festival: Brighton’s Discovery Hub
The Great Escape showcases 450 emerging artists from all over the world in 30-plus walkable venues across Brighton and a pop-up festival site on Brighton Beach, positioning itself as the first place to discover your new favourite artist in an intimate setting before they headline major festival stages. Founded in 2006, the festival hosts roughly 500 bands across 30 venues and has been likened to South by Southwest, with a music industry convention attended by over 4,000 delegates. Each year 450-plus artists spanning 30 nationalities perform across 600-plus shows, with the carefully curated lineup spanning a wide variety of genres to attract music fans, tastemakers, and music industry professionals alike. The festival operates like a massive treasure hunt through a seaside town – you never quite know which tiny venue will host the next breakout star.
Primavera Sound: Where Indie Meets the Mainstream
Primavera Sound, held at Barcelona’s Parc del Fòrum during late May and early June, was founded in 2001 as a showcase for Spanish noise bands and is now one of the largest and most-attended music festivals in Europe, with its image originally oriented around indie rock but recently incorporating more hip hop, electronic dance music, and pop. The 2025 edition featured three female pop stars as headliners – Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter, and Chappell Roan – with the festival noting that having three female artists headlining is especially symbolic as they lead a gender-balanced lineup, a hallmark of Primavera Sound since the 2019 edition. The festival featured 311 total performances, with 65% of attendees coming from abroad representing 136 different countries, while 80,000 Barcelona residents attended at least one festival event. It’s hard to say for sure, but Primavera seems to have mastered the balance between showcasing established acts and giving emerging talent that crucial platform.
The Festival Circuit’s Impact on Emerging Artists
Following a solid slate of newly established festivals in 2024, a fresh wave of music-centric gatherings unfolded across the United States throughout 2025, with emerging music festivals showcasing a broad spectrum of sounds from across genres, providing new platforms for both established artists and rising talents, giving festivalgoers the chance to discover new favorites. According to the Association of Independent Festivals, over 40 UK festivals cancelled, postponed, or permanently dissolved ahead of 2024’s season, with 172 events ceasing operations completely over the past five years – including 96 lost to the pandemic, 36 in 2023, and another 40 in 2024. Still, the surviving festivals have doubled down on their commitment to emerging talent. Italy’s Kappa Futur Festival attracted more than 90,000 attendees from 118 countries, with highly select lineups pairing global artists with up-and-coming local talent. These festivals aren’t just entertainment – they’re career-making machines that can transform unknown artists into global sensations practically overnight.
What’s striking is how these festivals have genuinely become the modern equivalent of A&R scouting. Think about it: record labels can see how artists perform under pressure, how crowds respond, how their stage presence translates in real time. That’s invaluable data you can’t get from streaming numbers alone. The festivals mentioned here aren’t just booking emerging talent out of charity – they’re investing in the future of music itself, spotting trends before they explode and giving artists that crucial first big break. So which festival do you think has the best eye for talent? The answer might surprise you when you look back five years from now.
