Nominations Are Open for the 2026 Sonic Guild Seattle Artist Grants

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10 artists. $10,000 each. $100,000 invested directly into Seattle-area music. Nominations are now open for the 2026 Sonic Guild Seattle Artist Grants.

Each year, Sonic Guild brings together music fans, artists, past grant recipients, and music industry professionals to recognize and invest in musicians building careers in our region. This year, 10 Seattle-area artists will each receive an unrestricted $10,000 grant, for a total of $100,000 invested directly into local music.

There is no formal grant application to complete. Artists enter the process through nomination, and anyone can nominate an artist, including the artists themselves.

Nominations are open September 30 through October 20, 2026.

→ NOMINATE AN ARTIST

What is a Sonic Guild Artist Grant?

Sonic Guild Artist Grants are unrestricted grants designed to give working musicians meaningful resources to continue building their careers.

Unlike many project-based grants, artists don't submit a proposed budget telling us exactly how every dollar will be spent. There are no royalty agreements, equity arrangements, or ownership requirements attached to the funding. Artists retain full ownership of their music and creative work.

A recipient might use their $10,000 to record an album, pay collaborators, purchase equipment, tour, create merchandise, hire a publicist, cover living expenses while finishing a record, or address whatever barrier is standing between them and their next step.

The artist decides what they need.

That's intentional. Sonic Guild's Artist Grants are an investment in the artist and their career, rather than reimbursement for one predetermined project.

Who can be nominated?

Artists must be actively working musicians based within approximately 100 miles of Seattle, including artists throughout Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Bellingham, and the surrounding region.

We're looking for artists who are actively creating original music and demonstrating an ongoing commitment to their music career through recording, releasing, performing, touring, or other professional activity.

Artists do not need to be Sonic Guild members, and they do not need to have performed at a Sonic Guild event to be considered.

Receiving another type of Sonic Guild support, such as a Tour Support Grant or George Reiff Producer Grant, also does not automatically make an artist ineligible for an Artist Grant.

Previous Sonic Guild Artist Grant recipients cannot receive another Artist Grant for the same artist or project. However, an individual who previously received a grant as part of another band or project may be eligible with a genuinely separate project.

You can explore past Seattle Artist Grant recipients here.

Who can nominate an artist?

Anyone.

You might nominate:

An artist or band you love
Someone you've seen perform locally
An artist you work with
A collaborator or fellow musician
Your own band or project
Yourself

You don't need to be a Sonic Guild member or work in the music industry to submit a nomination.

And importantly, this is not a nomination contest.

An artist only needs one nomination to enter the process. Receiving 50 nominations does not put an artist ahead of someone who received one. Multiple nominations do not increase an artist's chances of receiving a grant.

You are, however, welcome to nominate as many different artists as you'd like.

What do I need to nominate someone?

We've intentionally kept the nomination form simple.

We'll ask for basic information about you and the artist you're nominating, including the artist or project's name, where we can find their work, a reliable artist or management email address, and a listening link.

We'll also ask you to choose one song you'd want someone to hear if they were only going to hear one song from this artist.

There's an optional space to tell us what excites you about the artist, what they're contributing to the local music community, or why you wanted to put them on our radar.

That response is not scored, and longer nominations do not receive preferential consideration.

What happens after I nominate someone?

This is where nominations and voting are different.

Submitting a nomination does not count as a vote. A nomination simply puts an eligible artist into consideration.

After nominations close on October 20, the Sonic Guild team will review the submissions, consolidate duplicate nominations, verify artist eligibility, and prepare the eligible nominee pool for voting.

That means an artist with one nomination and an artist with 20 nominations enter voting on equal footing.

Round 1

On October 30, eligible nominees will be announced and the first round of voting will begin.

Voting brings together several perspectives from across the music community, including Sonic Guild members, past Artist Grant recipients, and music industry professionals. Sonic Guild's broader Artist Grant model intentionally combines those perspectives rather than relying on a single panel or public popularity vote.

Round 1 voting closes on November 9.

Those results narrow the eligible nominee pool to 40 artists.

The Top 40 and final vote

On November 13, Sonic Guild will announce the 2026 Top 40 and open the final round of voting.

The final voting period runs through November 20.

From those 40 finalists, 10 artists will ultimately receive 2026 Sonic Guild Seattle Artist Grants.

2026 Artist Grant timeline

September 30: Public nominations open October 20: Public nominations close October 30: Eligible nominees announced + Round 1 voting opens November 9: Round 1 voting closes November 13: Top 40 announced + final voting opens November 20: Final voting closes December 11: 2026 Artist Grant recipients publicly announced February 20, 2027: Sonic Guild Seattle Grant Celebration at The Triple Door

The Grant Celebration will bring the community together at The Triple Door for live performances and the presentation of the annual Artist Grants. Doors are currently scheduled for 6 PM with the show beginning at 7 PM.

Where does the money come from?

Sonic Guild is a community built around a simple idea: local music is worth investing in.

Seattle members contribute financially throughout the year, attend intimate shows featuring local artists, discover new music, and help make Sonic Guild's grants and artist programs possible. Membership dues, donations, sponsorships, fundraising events, and other community support all contribute to that work.

Artist Grants are one piece of Sonic Guild's larger investment in musicians. The organization also provides paid performance opportunities, Tour Support Grants, George Reiff Producer Grants, educational programming, and programs connecting artists with audiences and one another.

Why nominations matter

Only 10 artists will ultimately receive a $10,000 grant this cycle, but the nomination process is about more than identifying 10 recipients.

It creates a snapshot of the musicians actively shaping our region right now.

Hundreds of artists can enter the process, putting their music in front of fellow musicians, music industry professionals, Sonic Guild members, and new listeners. Previous nominees have gone on to perform at Sonic Guild events, participate in other grant programs, build new relationships, and become future Artist Grant recipients.

So if there's someone making music in this region who you think people should hear, put their name forward.

And if that person is you, nominate yourself.

Nominations close October 20, 2026.

→ NOMINATE AN ARTIST