CBC Searchlight: 11 Islanders enter national music contest

Don't be surprised if a relative, friend or total stranger asks you for your vote in the next few weeks the needle has dropped on this year's annual Searchlight contest.

Searchlight is CBC Music's cross-Canada search for the best up-and-coming musicians. Musicians from 24 geographic regions are competing for a grand prize worth $50,000.

Eleven P.E.I. artists or bands have entered the contest this time around, a drop from the 20 from the Island that entered last year.

Contestantsenterby posting a song with video to the Searchlight website.

Success in past contests

Singer-songwriter Dylan Menzie of Belle River won the P.E.I. part of the contest with his song Kenya in 2016.He also made it to the top four, nationally.

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"What I really learned is I have a huge supportnetwork behind me, especially from the east coast," he told CBC last November.

"Thenumber of votes and number of spins and album salesismind boggling."

'A no brainer to enter this year's competition'

Two other musicians who made it to the P.E.I. top ten last year are entering the contest again this year The Royal North and Jill Chandler.

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"We felt that we received a lot of good coverage from being in the top ten in the region last year," said lead vocalist and guitarist of The Royal North ChrisDalziel.

"A lot of people who you would never really reach across the country get the opportunity to see who you are. So it was really a no brainer to enter this year's competition."

Here's a look at the musicians vying for this year's title.

The Royal North: Leave the Light On

Jill Chandler: Come And Find Me Soon

Nick Doneff: Old Dog

Anya: I'm Staying Up

Maxine MacLennan: Without You

Maureen Trainor: Goodbye

Will Allen: It's About Time

Nick Arsenault: You're the one

Atlantic String Machine: Lost Time

ARCHER: I'll Never Let Go

Old Stone Station: Good Day To Run

Round one voting ends February 27

Round one closes Feb. 27 at 3:59 p.m. Atlantic Time.

At the end ofround one, ten videos nine chosen by the CBC Music Judging Panel, and the one with the most votes will automatically advance to round two, for the regional finals.

To find all the entries and to vote go tocbcmusic.ca/searchlight.

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