Judges
Jon Lawton
Jon Lawton is owner and producer at Crosstown Studios in Liverpool. Since opening Crosstown in 2008 Jon has worked on hundreds of demos for local bands, and recently recorded with international musician Sami Yusuf. As a musician Jon has been playing guitar since the age of 6, played in several bands as a teenager, and went on to gain a First Class Honours degree in Music at Salford University. He is a successful session guitarist and has played concerts as far afield as Europe, Scandinavia, Central Asia, USA, UAE, and Egypt.
“The Songwriting Challenge is a great experience to be involved in. The competition really helps to showcase some of Liverpool’s best underground musical talents and I can’t wait to see who we end up working with this year!”
Kaya Herstad Carney
Kaya Herstad Carney is originally from Norway, but made Liverpool her home in 1999. Kaya is a talented and popular performer, whether playing solo, performing with The Science of the Lamps or with choirs. She has recently written and recorded her first full feature film sound track. She worked at LIPA for seven years after qualifying with a degree in songwriting. She has a Masters in Performing Arts, and in March 2011 became a lecturer in Popular Music Performance at the University of Chester.
Kaya headed the preliminary judging panel for the Make It, Break It songwriting contest for 14-19 year olds (with main judges Chris Martin, Steve Levine, Harvey Goldsmith, HMV, EMI, and more), and in 2012 judged Norway’s Bandwagon song contest. Along with husband Chris, Kaya is the driving force behind Threshold Festival and a director of Balance Vocal Studio – one of only ten Vocology in Practice authorized studios in the UK.
“I enjoyed it last year and am really looking forward to being involved again.“
Robert Vincent
Robert is a highly respected musician who has performed twice at the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, once as part of the Irish Sea Sessions and once supporting Madeleine Peyroux. He also has a host of festival appearances to his name and has toured the UK supporting Paul Carrack (Roxy Music, Squeeze).
A respected performer and songwriter, Robert was selected James Blunt to open for him at the Liverpool Echo Arena on Wednesday 26th November 2014. Robert is currently on tour with Paul Carrack through to March 2015.
Luke Moore
