Meet the five EMEA Vans Musicians Wanted finalists

This summer, Vans relaunched their Musicians Wanted competition, which offered lucky unsigned artists the chance to not only play Vans' Musicians Wanted virtual concert series this month, but the ultimate winner will share the stage with YUNGBLUD in front of live audiences as the opening act in 2022.

Here, we introduce you to the five artists from the EMEA region who could soon be facing the opportunity of their lives.

Hailing from the seaside town of Newcastle in Northern Ireland, Lemonade Shoelace is the brain-child of 23-year-old Ruairí Richman.

Have graduated from esteemed music school BIMM Dublin, Ruairí found himself with quite a lot of time on his hands during lockdown, and set about creating his hazy alter-ego Lemonade Shoelace.

His dreamy, sun-bleached indie-psych shimmers with memories of summers past. Tinged with Americana, Lemonade Shoelace provides the soundtrack to the California holiday we all wish we were on right now.

Find Lemonade Shoeace on Instagram.

Born in South Africa, raised in Southhampton and now residing in North London, Kenya Grace is a one-woman DIY machine. The singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer has built herself up on her own, doing everything her way.

Growing up writing songs, Kenya found herself involved in musical theatre, but in recent years has turned her hand to music production, finding new ways to embellish her electro-indie sound.

Inspired by the likes of Banks and Flume, there's an r'n'b flair to Kenya Grace's alt.pop, at times flirting with tropical vibes to transport her London lilt away from the real world. The potential is clear.

Find Kenya Grace on Instagram.

Birmingham rapper KY'ORiON (real name Kyle) has already found success on both sides of The Pond, performing at festivals across the United States and Canada – including new music haven SXSW.

KY'ORiON has been on a creative mission for the past decade, with the rapper, producer and director founding the artistic creative The Factory Media in 2011. Dipping his toes into styling, modelling, poetry, graphic design and even building his own studio, it's in his music that Kyle really flourishes.

With a gritty attitude and sinister swagger, KY'ORiON describes his brand of British rap as “ignorantly conscious”. Cherry-picking from genres like trap and soul, it's full of ballsy attitude will definitely turn heads.

Find KY'ORiON on Instagram.

Welsh two-piece Altered Myths have been friends since school, but didn't start jamming and performing together since 2017.

The Penarth pair have been lauded for bringing showmanship back to live music, dead-set on creating a memorable live show they'd actually want to see themselves – from their matching stage outfits and custom leather masks to pantomime antics, this ain't your dad's rock band.

Like the garage-rock offspring of Royal Blood and Clutch, there's some real dirt under these riffs, which packs a groove-tastic, sludgy edge. When these hooks sink in, they're never letting go.

Find Altered Myths on Instagram.

It seems like there's nothing Jingyan can't do. On top of getting her doctorate in French literature this year, she has two musical projects on the go: the two-piece dsslio and her own solo work known as p-i.

Originally from China, Jingyan has spend the past 10 years living in Paris, France, and is fluent in Mandarin, French and English. And yet, despite three of the most-spoken languages at her disposal, p-i's music is almost entirely instrumental.

Jingyan has said that that music should be a transcendental experience, and her carefully-constructed electro has the power to transport you to another plane. Strap in

Find p-i on Instagram.

Tune in to the Musicians Wanted live show on September 22 on the Vans website.