The 7th edition of the emerging talent music contest PortAutors-es has announced the six finalists who will compete to boost their musical careers. The chosen artists are Affra, Candela Escobar, Celobert, Clara Maschio, Edna Bravo, and Leyre Estruch. This edition has registered a record number of participants with nearly 60 musical proposals from the region, highlighting the initiative's positive reception and its consolidation as a benchmark for talent discovery.
The final will take place on November 21st at 6 PM at the Teatret del Serrallo, coinciding with its 10th anniversary. The finalists will perform three compositions before the jury and the audience. Invitations to attend the event can be obtained through the website Entradium.
The diversity and quality of the submitted proposals are the distinguishing features of this edition. According to Sandra Coloma, cultural manager and head of the organization, "the contest has raised the level of the candidacies, which demonstrates the talent we have in the region." Coloma also emphasizes that "the sixty proposals submitted consolidate PortAutors-es as a benchmark in discovering new artists and make the Teatret del Serrallo a key venue for promoting new musical careers."
As a new feature this year, the finalists will participate on Sunday the 8th in an in-person training session on stage presence and direction. The finalists are: Affra, a singer-songwriter from Badalona with roots in soul and folk music; Candela Escobar, a Barcelona-based singer-songwriter awarded in 2022; Celobert, an indie-pop group with over 400,000 streams on digital platforms; Clara Maschio, a singer-songwriter born in Argentina and raised in Vic; Edna Bravo, a guitarist and composer from Vilassar de Dalt; and Leyre Estruch, a Catalan singer-songwriter exploring auteur song through folk and jazz.
PortAutors-es offers five awards to promote emerging talent: the Jury Prize (includes performances at festivals in 2027), the Audience Award (material to improve musical recordings), the Local Artist Award (musical training by Yamaha Music School Tarragona), the FIM Vila-seca Award (performance at the Fira de Música Emergent i Familiar de Vila-seca 2027), and the Port Tarragona Award (production of a professional music video).
Beyond the contest, PortAutors-es continues with initiatives such as the Projecte Família PortAutors (Family Project PortAutors), training sessions with music industry professionals, and PortAutors en Xarxa (PortAutors Network) to foster collaboration between festivals and programmers, solidifying its role as a key platform for promoting new auteur song talents.
