Maximus Pepper, from Pensford, has impressed judges at the ‘Top 30 Young Songwriter Competition 2023’ with his song ‘Backstage Guy’, written for his year 7 band.

12-year-old Max, currently in year seven at Chew Valley School, has only been playing guitar for a year. In that time, he has found a passion for music and songwriting.

Hannah Pepper, Max’s mum, told The 
Gazette: “He has always loved music. When he was around eight he started playing the drums but changed to ukelele over lockdown when he had more time. He only took to acoustic and electric guitar fairly recently - within the last year.”

“The idea for the song started around three months ago. He worked on it and then brought his band members in to perform it for the recording.”

“He loves performing and writing and finds it rewarding; he even did the open mic at Valley Fest last year with very little practice.”

The Song Academy’s ‘Song Academy Young Songwriter’ competition - also recognised as the acronym SAYS - invites aspiring young songwriters aged 8-18 to enter from across the world. The competition is open to both experienced young songwriters and those who have just written their first song.

In 2023, the competition is in it’s thirteenth year and has welcomed around 1,000 entries from budding young artists.

About their mission, Song Academy say, “We are dedicated to the future of music and the wellbeing of young people aged 8-18.”

“Our goal is to help children from all backgrounds find their voice and find their tribe, through writing their own original songs at a formative time of their life.”

“We nurture young writers, artists, musicians, producers and creative thinkers, empowering young people to achieve their full potential and shape their future.”

There are four catagories for The Song Academy’s Song Academy Young Songwriter competition 2023, all of which have thirty shortlisted entries: UK and Ireland 13-18 year olds, UK and Ireland 13-15 year olds, UK and Ireland 8-12 year olds, and International 13-18 year olds.

This year, 62% of entrants were girls, 32% boys, 6% preferred not to say or had a unique gender identification. UK/Ireland entries made up 71% of this years’ competition, with the other 29% coming in from the rest of the world.

Judges on this year’s panel include Callum Scott, who rose to fame on Britain’s Got Talent in 2015, and GRACEY, who made her breakthrough in 2020 on the track “Don’t Need Love” by collaborating with 220 Kid and earning a BRIT Award nomination for the single.

The top 10 finalists of all categories will be announced on the 12th May, with top 3 finalists announced on the 13th June. Winners will be announced later in September, when the Young Songwriter 2023 live showcase will be held in London.

For more information on Song Academy and their competition, visit: https://www.songacademy.co.uk