'Scouse Mercury' returns for 2014
Liverpool's premier new music prize the GIT Award returns on Saturday, November 16 for its third successive year.
The process to find the 12 GIT Award shortlisted nominees opens today ahead of the special showcase ceremony at The Kazimier Gardens in Liverpool city centre on Friday, April 11 2014.
Dubbed the 'Scouse Mercury Prize,' the GIT Award is the first regional award of its kind championing new emerging talent within Merseyside's eclectic arts and music community, pushing innovative musicians right across the world.
The overall winner of the GIT Award 2014 will receive a cash prize of £1,000 when revealed at the Kazimier next April.
A special Inspiration Award, recognising significant outstanding achievement in Merseyside's music industry will also be presented.
The recipient of the 2013 Inspiration Award was the Hillsborough Justice Collective, while in 2012 the team behind Liverpool's Kazimier club picked up the honour.
Launched in November 2011, the GIT Award, founded by Liverpool-based blog Getintothis, is now an annual fixture on the Merseyside music scene, supported by musicians, industry figures and national media.
Among the judging panel during the GIT Award's first two years were NME, 6 Music's Tom Ravenscroft, The Quietus, The Guardian, Liverpool Football Club, Q Magazine, Vice Magazine and the cornerstones of Liverpool's music scene.
Open to all artists and bands from or based in Merseyside, the GIT Award has showcased the region's rich musical diversity, from the thriving hip hop scene to its electronica artists, from its long-established country and roots community to punk, folk and metal.
The 2014 Award, which will be officially launched on Saturday, November 16 at Leaf on Bold Street, is no different.
It's open to the public and free to attend - and will premier new artists and unique collaborations by some of Merseyside's hottest artists.
Peter Guy, Liverpool Echo journalist and editor of Getintothis, said: "When the GIT Award was established two years ago we had no idea how it would snowball, placing new Liverpool music at the forefront of the national consciousness and have the impact it has had."
Musicians, bands and creative types who would like to enter for this year's prize are asked to send four tracks to getintothis@gmail.com or alternatively post to Peter Guy, The GIT Award, Liverpool Daily Post & ECHO, PO Box 48, Old Hall Street, Liverpool, L69 3EB.
Businesses who would like to get involved with the GIT Award can email getintothis@gmail.com for more information.