One of the best parts of being a judge in the Glastonbury Festival Emerging Talent Competition is keeping in touch with the artists that impressed during the selection process.

Last time out our three long listed entries were Brighton band Roma Palace, singer-songwriter Laura Goldthorp and indie and jazz act Saachi.

Roma Palace made it through to the last eight shortlisted finalists and appeared at last year’s festival. They also impressed us recently with their new single You.

Roma Palace performinh at the Glastonbury ETC 2019 finals (pic by Matt Turner)

This month we have also caught up with Saachi and Laura.

Saachi

Saachi lead singer Saachi Sen has let us know that in October she is releasing a new single Dark.

This comes amid a busy year for Saachi having played festivals including Cambridge Big Weekend and Pride in London.

Released as a solo track, Dark was part recorded at London’s Abbey Road and is “about being proud of who you are, no matter what preconception the world could have of you.”

As with her Glastonbury Festival Emerging Talent Competition entry, Dark also impresses us, showcasing Saachi’s great song writing and superb voice. It’s got a great message too.

Laura Goldthorp

Meanwhile, Laura Goldthorp’s track Candy Shops is still earworming its way nicely through our noggins. She’s back with another slice of great pop with a new single Supernova.

This is the first single off an upcoming EP and can be found via her social media sites.

According to Laura, the track is an “honest exploration of creative anxiety”.

by Joe Lepper

This month two singles/EPs in particular have caught our year. Firstly, Roma Palace from Brighton have released a new single You this month.

This is their first release after impressing during the Glastonbury Emerging Talent competition and the festival itself.

As a judge in the competition we long listed Roma Palace and was delighted to see them make it through to the final shortlist of eight. Although they did not win they did impress the festival organisers enough to appear at the event.

The track follows in the tradition of their previous tracks like Tell Me, mixing pop, indie rock and blues perfectly. One to watch out for.

We have also been sent word from Steven Adams that he has hooked up with former fellow Broken Family Band alumni Tim Victor, for his latest band – Portland Brothers.

Portland Brothers

Their four-track debut EP is released on August 23 and is a must for Broken Family Band fans, marking a return to the country and classic pop roots of their releases.

Since the Broken Family Band broke up Adams has been involved in a number of musical projects that have we’ve consistently been impressed by.
by Joe Lepper

Roma Palace can be found on Souncloud here.

We are delighted to announce that Roma Palace, one of our three long list entries for the Glastonbury Festival Emerging Talent competition, has made it through to this month’s finals.

“Brighton based Roma Palace impressed us with their fresh take on indie pop and rock, with a slice of blues thrown into the mix,” said Neonfiller co-editor Joe Lepper, who is one of 30 music writers to help compile the 90-strong longlist for this year’s competition.

Roma Palace

“The band’s strong vocals and a pop sensibility, reminiscent of the likes of Phoenix, further add to their appeal.”

Commiserations to our other two choices, Saachi and Laura Goldthorpe, who also submitted very strong entries, as well as the other long-listers who missed out.

Roma Palace will now compete with Che Lingo, iiola, LIINES, Marie White, Shunaji, Swimming Girls and YAMAYA in a live finals on April 27.

A playlist of tracks from all the finalists can be found here

The winner will earn a main stage slot at this year’s Glastonbury Festival a well as a £5,000 Talent Development prize from PRS Foundation.

Two runners up will also each be awarded a £2,5000 PRS Foundation prize.

by Joe Lepper