Exojay

East Midlands

Exojay is an R&B and rap artist based in Nottingham. The NextGen Fund will support him to create a self-produced EP, accompanied by cinematic content.

Pronouns: he/him

Erin O'Callaghan

East Midlands

Erin O'Callaghan is an independent singer-songwriter originally from Northamptonshire, now living in Edinburgh. She has played gigs at Sofar Sounds, Dragonfly Live Lounge, The Lemon Tree and Sneaky Pete's, and has received support from Angela Griffin on BBC Radio 2. The NextGen Fund will support her upcoming 4-track EP.

Pronouns: she/her

Elizabeth J. Birch

West Midlands

Elizabeth J Birch is a musician from Solihull. She has received radio plays from Brum Radio, BBC Introducing, Unmade Radio and Black Country Radio, won the 'Inspirational Music Leader' Award at the Youth Music Awards 2023, and was featured as a Mastercard Trailblazer ahead of the 2024 BRIT Awards, in recognition of her work to drive positive change in the music industry across technology, diversity and inclusion. With the NextGen Fund, she will create and launch her own music label, and experiment with unique and accessible ways of writing, recording, releasing, and promoting music.

Pronouns: she/her

Ebenezer Good

North East

Ebenezer Good is a producer, recording engineer and DJ based in Newcastle. He has performed at festivals across the UK including Kendall Calling, Dot2Dot in Bristol, and Waves Festival in Sunderland. With the NextGen Fund, he will be releasing three new singles, play at UK Garage and DnB events, and host guest mixes on his social media platforms and on radio.

Pronouns: he/him

ÉABHA

Northern Ireland

ÉABHA is an artist from Belfast. They have received praise from BBC Radio Ulster, Sound Obscura Chicago, Dublin Digital Radio, and Resonance Magnétique in Montreal. They also perform regularly within the Belfast music scene. The NextGen Fund will support the release of their upcoming debut EP, 'An Dóitéan'.

Pronouns: they/them

Duncan Colquhoun

Scotland

Duncan Colquhoun is a producer, singer, songwriter and visual artist based in Glasgow. With the NextGen Fund, he is creating a genre-fluid five-track debut EP for release under a new pseudonym.

Pronouns: he/him

Celia Grace

North East

Celia Grace is a bedroom-pop singer from Hartlepool. She has played at various venues across the North East, festivals such as Twisterella and Stockton Calling, and a live session at BBC Maida Vale Studios. She has also been selected to take part in artist development programmes, including Tees Alliance Mentoring, Help Musicians Business Accelerator and Generator First Notes.

Pronouns: she/her

Carnelian Seville

South East

Carnelian Seville is an artist and herbalist based in Brighton. They have performed at festivals including Queer Spirit and Buddhafield Festival, had artist residencies at Performing Arts Forum, Can Serrat and La Bassa Mar, and collaborated with medicinal musicians and collectives including the Radical Faeries and Penelope Vivaro. Their NextGen Funded project will involve using their Plant Wave synthesizer, which converts the electromagnetic frequencies of plants into music. Carnelian will write and produce a track collaborating with an “orchestra” of mushrooms, documenting their process in a short film which they will screen locally.

Pronouns: they/them

Bennettiscoming

North West

Bennettiscoming is an R&B singer/songwriter from Manchester. He has performed at Manchester International Festival, Manchester Pride, Pride in Trafford, Pride Bolton and Sounds From The Other City. The NextGen Fund is supporting the development and release of his upcoming EP, 'Late Bloomer'.

Pronouns: he/him

Astrid Lucia

South East
 

Astrid Lucia is an alternative R&B artist from Kent. Her music has received support from BBC Introducing, Reprezent Radio and PIRATE.COM, and she has performed in cities across the UK, including London and Bristol. Her NextGen Fund grant is supporting her to finish her second EP, learn music production, and develop a new live set which uses Ableton Live.

Pronouns: she/her

AFRODITETOOLIVELY

East of England
 

AFRODITETOOLIVELY's NextGen Fund grant will support the creation of a five-track UK Garage EP, 'Lively's World', along with a listening event for the launch.
 

Pronouns: she/her

ADJUA

Wales
 

ADJUA is an artist based in Cardiff, who explores genres including indie R&B, Afro, jazz and neo-soul. She has previously been named Huw Stephens' 'Artist of the Week', has headlined Clwb Ifor Bach and performed for the Welsh Music Prize at the Welsh Millenium Centre, and has played shows in Rotterdam and Sweden. She has also supported Mauvey on his UK tour. ADJUA's NextGen Fund grant will support the production and release of the second track from her upcoming EP, 'Everything is Beautiful'.
 

Pronouns: she/her
 

Ramé Kari

Ramé Kari are artists from Stockton-On-Tees. They have received support from BBC Tees and BBC Introducing, with their debut single 'Lil Lighty' being named BBC Tees' 'Track of the Week'. The NextGen Fund is supporting them to release their debut EP, 'Casual Disasters', alongside a music video.

Oscar Jennings

Oscar Jennings is an artist from Derry. He has performed as a singer-songwriter since the age of 14, playing local support and headline gigs. The NextGen Fund supported him to create, release and market his debut EP, 'Wouldn't Be Seen Dead'.

nottodaykarin

Karin is a graduate from HND Music Business at Glasgow Kelvin College. She has worked and performed with Bemz as his DJ, having played events such as The Great Escape, TRNSMT, Reading and Leeds Festival. The NextGen Fund supported her to deliver a series of beginner-friendly DJ workshops for anyone who identifies as a femme/woman, followed by a showcase event at the end of the series.

Niques

Niques is a garage and R&B/soul artist from Cardiff. She has performed at BBC 6's Immersed Festival and Push The Boat Out Festival in Scotland, as well as performing alongside D Double E, Foreign Concept and Sam Binga. She has also had support from Reprezent Radio, BBC and Kiss FM.

Nat Oaks

Nat Oaks is an artist from Bristol, now based in London. She has performed at Love Saves The Day, Wireless, Reading, Boomtown and Latitude festivals, among others. She was also selected to participate in the Warner Chappell and YouTube Music Summer of Pride Writing Camp, songwriting with MNEK, Chloe Latimer, Boy Matthews and SAKIMA. She played her first headline show at Café KOKO, as she was invited to open it as it relaunched, and has further supported both Pip Millett and Jelani Blackman on both of their tours. Additionally, Nat has toured with BBC Introducing in the South West, playing 3 locations in 3 days. In 2024, she was shortlisted for 'Rising Star (Artist)' at the Youth Music Awards.

miamusa

miamusa is a singer-songwriter and producer from Birmingham. She has written music for over 10 years, and since then, has received radio play on NTS, BBC Introducing, Worldwide FM and No Signal. She was also selected to partake in an Ableton Production Course with CUBE and Emmavie, as well as in the Beautiful Academy with AIAIAI, learning from the likes of Mura Masa and PinkPantheress. She has also taken part in a Sound Engineering Camp with CUBE, and performed live at venues including the Pickle Factory, Matchstick Piehouse and state51.

Maxine

Maxine is an R&B/soul artist based in the North East of England. Her tracks have received recognition from BBC Radio and 1Xtra, and she has toured with BBC 1Xtra DJ, Ace. Her NextGen Funded project will bring to life her first EP, showcasing sounds she has not previously had the chance to experiment with in her music.

Marla Kether

Marla is a bassist, DJ and producer based in Bristol. She has created mixes for BBC Introducing and BBC 6 Music. She has performed as a session bassist for the likes of Yazmin Lacey, Oscar Jerome and Obongjayar, and toured with Little Simz. Her debut EP 'All That We Have' was heralded by Bandcamp Daily as some of 'The Best Electronic Music of November 2023', and the closing track 'BTR2' was one of DJ Mag's Top Tracks of 2023. In 2024, she was also awarded the Music Producer Award at the Youth Music Awards, sponsored by AlphaTheta. Marla has also performed at The Jazz Cafe, Shambala Festival and London Jazz Festival, with further shows to take place in 2025 at Cross The Tracks Festival, the Royal Albert Hall, and The Roundhouse.

Mari Mathias

Mari Mathias is an alternative folk singer from Wales. Having grown up in the rural village of Talgarreg, her music is driven by nature, landscape and tradition. She has received support from BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio 6 and The Cardiffian. She has also performed at a variety of festivals, including Between The Trees and Sŵn Festival in Wales, Centre Stage Festival in New Delhi, and Hornbill Festival in Kohima.

Maddie Morris

Maddie Morris is a contemporary folk musician from Leeds. They have won the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award and the Peter Roberts CBE Memorial Prize for their work, and have toured across the UK and Europe supporting artists including Nancy Kerr, Chuck SJ, Flyte and Angeline Morrison. They have also performed at Hartlepool, Cambridge, Towersey and Cropredy Folk festivals, and been selected for the English Folk Expo scheme.

Lex Gibbon

Lex Gibbon is a singer based in the East of England. Her music has regularly been featured on BBC Introducing Essex and BBC Introducing 3 Counties, and she has performed a three-song acoustic live lounge session for them. Her songs have also received placements on Spotify editorial playlists, including 'Fresh Finds UK and Ireland', and her single 'Rather Be Lonely' has been played on ITV This Morning.

JED

JED is a rapper and promoter based in Devon. His music has been played by DJs and radio stations including DJ EZ, Kiss FM and BBC Devon as well as landing interviews and premieres in a range of publications. He is also the founder of events company AGB, which puts on shows that highlight undiscovered artists in his local scene. Many of his events to date have sold out. He also performs regularly himself, and has headlined shows in both London and Brighton.