Young and Loud Festival 2025 Auditions: Teen Energy Takes Over Ho!

On Saturday, 25 October 2025, the city of Ho came alive with rhythm, words, and colour as 50 talented teenagers gathered at the GNAT Executive Hall for the Young and Loud Festival Auditions 2025.

From dance crews and poets to singers and visual artists, the auditions brought together teenagers from schools and communities across the Ho Municipality, all ready to compete for a spot on the main stage of this year’s festival, themed “Our City, Our Future – Teen Creativity for Environmental Action.”

The auditions featured four major categories: Dance, Poetry, Music, and Visual Arts, each one buzzing with creativity, passion, and purpose.

Dance Category:

Dance is at the heart of teen culture in Ho, and that energy lit up the stage at the auditions.

From freestyle groups to choreographed crews, dancers showed incredible creativity with their costumes, synchronization, stage confidence, and storytelling through movement. Crews like 11:59 creators, D.O.F Academy, and Beat Makers, fused Afrobeats with traditional Ewe rhythms, while others brought bold hip-hop and contemporary routines that kept the judges clapping mid-performance.

Poetry Category:

Then came the poets, bold, expressive, and deeply rooted in identity. Many arrived draped in rich Ewe kente and traditional cloth wraps, their faces and bodies painted in symbolic patterns that spoke of heritage, strength, and belonging.

Their words tackled themes like environmental pollution, mental health, inequality, and the beauty of belonging. Using vivid imagery, rhythm, repetition, and punchy metaphors, they delivered spoken-word pieces that pierced hearts and earned standing ovations. 

Every line carried the weight of truth, the voice of youth, and the power of hope.

Music Category: 

The singing auditions were pure vibes! From Afrobeats singers to reggae vocalists and rap artists, every performer brought their own energy and sound. Some came with studio tracks, others plugged in their instrumentals, and a few went completely a cappella,  no beats, just raw vocals that gave everyone chills. You could feel the passion, the stories, and the confidence pouring through every note.

At one point, the judges threw in a surprise challenge, “Create a quick verse about this year’s theme!” and the teens nailed it. On the spot, they turned ideas into lyrics that hit deep. It proved one thing: Ho’s young talents aren’t just singers; they’re storytellers with something real to say.

We cannot wait for the biggest teens fest to happen this year.

Visual Arts Category:

This year’s visual art auditions were full of fresh energy and teamwork. In past editions, we mostly saw solo artists quietly painting or sketching, but this time was different. Many teens worked together, some in pairs, others in small groups, combining their ideas and styles to create amazing pieces that told real stories.

Each piece spoke in its own way. Some were abstract, full of mystery and imagination, while others showed the dreams and struggles of teenagers, where they are now, what they hope to achieve, and the challenges they face. A few paintings shared powerful messages about the pressure girls deal with from family, school, and society, and how they’re finding the strength to rise above it all. Every artwork reminded us that creativity is a way to speak out, inspire others, and shape the future.

The judges were impressed by the originality, color use, and storytelling behind each artwork. For many, it wasn’t just art — it was activism on canvas.

Why This Year’s Edition Matters

This year’s festival is your chance as a teenager to make your voice heard. Under the theme “Our City, Our Future – Teen Creativity for Environmental Action,” Young & Loud Festival 2025 is putting teenagers at the centre of change. 

We all see it, the flooding after every heavy rain, the litter piling up, the trees disappearing, the heat that never seems to end. But what if you could do something about it? What if your creativity could inspire others to care, act, and dream of a cleaner, greener, and safer Ho? 

That’s exactly what this year’s edition is about, turning your creativity into real change and showing that the future of our city starts with us.

This is why you can’t miss it, not the dancers, poets, dreamers, and definitely not you. The energy from the auditions was just a glimpse of what’s coming. The talent, the passion, the stories, they’re all building up to something unforgettable.

What’s Next

The judges now face the exciting task of selecting the top contestants who will move on to the main stage at the Young & Loud Festival 2025, happening on Saturday, 22 November 2025 at 9:00 AM at Ho Jubilee Park.

Stay tuned for the announcement of the selected contestants, the ones who danced, spoke, sang, and created their way into our hearts. They’ll be competing for the ultimate prize and, more importantly, representing the voice of Ho’s youth in shaping “Our City, Our Future.”

Follow us on all social media platforms @YoungAndSafeHo for updates, videos, and behind-the-scenes moments from the auditions!

About the Young and Loud Festival 2025: 

The Young and Loud Festival is Ho’s biggest teen creativity event, a platform where teenagers use art, music, dance, fashion, and poetry to express themselves, connect with others, and inspire positive change in their community.

Now in its third edition, Young & Loud Festival 2025 is themed “Our City, Our Future – Teen Creativity for Environmental Action.” This year, the festival calls on teenagers to take the lead in reimagining Ho as a cleaner, greener, and safer city through the power of creativity and collective action.

The festival is organised under the Young and Safe Project, part of the Healthy Cities for Adolescents (HCA II) programme supported by Fondation Botnar, and implemented by Node Eight, Ho Municipal Assembly, Ghana Education Service- Ho Municipal Directorate, and LoveAid Foundation.

About the Young and Safe Project:    

The Young and Safe project is a three-year initiative that aims to address key issues such as youth participation in city governance, sexual and reproductive health, mental health support, creative self-expression, and digital employment opportunities. The project is a collaboration between Node Eight, Ho Municipal Assembly, LoveAid Foundation, and Ghana Education Service and is supported by Fondation Botnar through the Healthy Cities for Adolescents Program (HCA-||), managed by Ecorys UK. The initiative aims to develop an inclusive and supportive community for young people in Ho, Volta region, Ghana by leveraging the capabilities of each partner. The Young and Safe project will also increase young people’s employability by helping them build their digital innovation and entrepreneurship competencies. Read more.   

For all enquires, reach out to us via email at info@nodeeight.org

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