Young musicians under the age of 25 who sing or play traditionally-based music are invited to enter for New Roots 2016.

The annual event is for young performers of all styles of traditional or contemporary folk, roots or world music, performing traditional material or writing their own.

There are two categories, under 18 and 18-24, in the competition which has been running since 2000.

The judges will be Jim Causley, Steph West, Andy Stafford and Lynne Heraud who represent a wide spectrum of insights into the folk scene.

Their task will be to listen to the entries sent in and select the performers who will take part in the final on Sunday, April 2, 2017, at Trestle Arts Base in St Albans. On the day they will give constructive feedback to performers.

There is no overall winner and everyone who makes it to the final will win one or more performance opportunities. The aim is to match the performers to the opportunities at folk festivals, clubs and other events which are offered to New Roots finalists.

Performers who want to enter are invited to complete the entry form on the New Roots website and email it to info@new-roots.org.uk. In reply, they will get an email telling them how to upload up to 15 minutes of their music.

The closing date for entries is January 31 and more information is available on the website which also has a form for event organisers who wish to offer performance opportunities for young musicians.