A trust that provides grants to musicians, dancers, singers and performers whose work is rooted in folk and traditional music and arts of any culture has opened its 2025 round of funding.

Anyone aged 16 to 30 who shows exceptional skill, talent and promise in their field and is influenced by folk or traditional music and arts from any culture can apply for one of four grants of up to £2,000 from the Alan Surtees Trust.

The trust was set up in 2017 in memory of the co-founder and director of Shrewsbury Folk Festival and the festival makes an annual donation to the trust. In November, it also received a generous £2,658 from Oysterband, which was a portion of proceeds from a gig in Shrewsbury on its final tour. The band’s lead singer John Jones was a friend of Alan’s and is co-patron of the festival.

Since the trust was set up, it has made 24 individual grants that have funded everything from recording albums to video production, musical tuition, a folk music school project and the purchase of new instruments and equipment.

Trust chair Dave Cowing, a life-long friend of Alan’s, said: “Every year we are staggered by the sheer wealth of talent out there and wish we could support many, many more people than we are able to. Last year we had more than 120 applications. But looking back over the years, we’ve been able to make a real difference to some young performers who wouldn’t have been able to progress their musical development or ideas without our assistance.

“We are delighted to be playing a small part in supporting the continued preservation and sharing of folk culture. As ever, we’re keen to hear from musicians, singers, dancers, artists or other performers from diverse backgrounds so we can support every kind of traditional culture, not just British folk.”

Grants are invited from musicians, singers, dancers, artists or performers in the folk arts from any culture. Applicants can be solo artists, bands or groups.

Applicants should be aged between 16 and 30 at the time of application. They must live in the UK and not already have significant financial backing.

Four awards of up to £2,000 per person will be given for mentoring and tuition from experts in the genre, hiring of rehearsal and creative space, costs towards new instruments and equipment, recording and production of a debut album, production of promotional materials and marketing support or project research and development expenses such as artist fees or travel expenses.

The closing date for applications is 30 April. For more information and to apply, go to: alansurteestrust.org.uk. The application form includes the option to submit a personalised video from applicants and this is encouraged by trustees.