Youth Music

DFlexXx

DFlexXx is a hip-hop and trap artist from Wales. He has played at venues across Wales including the Wales Millennium Centre, Tramshed Cardiff and Clwb Ifor Bach; as well as performed on the lineup of Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The NextGen Fund is supporting him to revelop and release his 'Prince of Wales' EP, with 25% of all proceeds from album sales set to go to The Prince's Trust, to empower other young creatives.

Damsel Elysium

Damsel Elysium is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, experimental sound, visual and performance artist based in London. They have performed at the Southbank Centre, Tate Modern and Union Chapel, collaborated with FKA Twigs, Celeste and the London Contemporary Orchestra, and been commissioned for Simone Rocha, Vogue X Gucci, and Byredo.

Cralla

Cralla is a rapper and songwriter from Wolverhampton. With the NextGen Fund, he was able to release his EP 'Royal Infirmary', which was a collection of songs about his experience of hospital following a serious crash. Writing the EP provided Cralla with an outlet for expression during the challenging process of recovery.

Cat Rose

Cat Rose is a musician, writer and theatre maker based in Plymouth. She is a music mentor at the Barbican Theatre and an arts practitioner at Theatre Royal Plymouth. She reached the final three of Plymouth's Laureate of Words, and won the Under the Bridge project with Fotonow. She was also named runner-up in the South-West heat of the UK Unsigned singer-songwriter competition.

BINA.

BINA. is a singer-songwriter and producer based in London. Her music has amassed millions of streams to date, she has supported high-profile musicians on tour including Ego Ella May, IAMDDB and Baby Rose, and she has performed at festivals including Cross The Tracks and We Out Here. She has further sold out her own London headline shows, and performed internationally across Europe. In 2025, she will also be performing at Brick Lane Jazz Festival.

Archy Moor

Archy Moor is an artist based in Milton Keynes. He has collaborated with renowned producers including Earl Saga, Mikewavvs and Nick Mills, and supported Frankie Gunn & Harvey Stew at Opium in Dublin to a sold-out audience.

Angel of Origin

Angel of Origin is a DJ, producer and audiovisual artist based in Nottingham. He performed a DJ set supporting Bicep during Youth Music's Give A Gig Week, hosts his own radio show on Swing Dash, and designs posters, graphics, animations and visuals for various music projects.

Amy Laurenson

Amy Laurenson is a musician from the Shetland Isles, currently based in Glasgow. She has been named BBC Radio Scotland Youth Traditional Musician of the Year, and performed at a variety of festivals including Edinburgh TradFest, Shetland Folk Festival, Cambridge Folk Festival, Eden Court 'Under Canvas' Festival, and more.

Connor Williams

Connor Williams (AKA 333) is a promoter based in Wales. He has put on successful shows in venues such as The Moon Club, Clwb Ifor Bach and Porter's, and with the NextGen Fund, has founded 'Diwylliant' - a series of live music events which showcase punk, queer punk and alternative rock music in Cardiff.

Yumé NET

Yumé NET is an artist, producer and session keyboardist based in London. She has taken part in programmes including Qube Futures and 360RA Academy, and was named the winner of the Qube Futures EP Competition. She has also established herself as a presence in London's jazz music scene, through her live solo performances at venues including Notting Hill Arts Club, The Crypt, AMP Studios, Shacklewell Arms, and more.

Tom Hodson

Tom Hodson is an artist, drummer, hip-hop producer and DJ from Belper, Derbyshire. With the support of the NextGen Fund, he will be releasing a 4-track concept EP called 'Every Day I Wake Up', which seeks to uplift and comfort others struggling with mental illness, rewriting the script from one of darkness to one of love, consciousness and positivity.

Sunkissed Child

Sunkissed Child is a Lebanese artist based between Leeds and London. They have received support from BBC Radio 6, been longlisted for Glastonbury's Emerging Talent Competition, and performed at notable festivals and venues including Brudenell Social Club, We Out Here Festival, and Sound of Europe Festival in Turkey.

sorry stacy

sorry stacy is a Russian-Ukrainian multimedia artist, born in Estonia and now based in Wales. She has previously been part of the Forte Project, and performed at festivals including FOCUS Wales and Theatr Brycheiniog. She has also collaborated with fellow NextGen Fund Recipient Mali Hâf, and received recognition and support from BBC Horizons.

Shogun Shato

Shogun Shato is a rapper based in South London. He has taken part in programmes led by Grounded Sounds, the Southbank Centre and Ninja Tune, and recently hosted his NextGen-Funded event, 'Road Trippin': Tales From The Road' - an EP launch party paired with a tasting menu of meals inspired by the locations on the album.

Sarah Ann Rée

Sarah Ann Rée is a folk singer-songwriter originally from Belfast. She is a frequent live performer, and has performed at Dot to Dot Festival, supported a variety of local artists, and performed in Sofar Sounds shows across the UK from Belfast to Bristol.

Saloni

British-Asian artist Saloni has been featured on Rolling Stone and BBC Asian Network, and performed with artists like Arjun, Apache Indian, Ezu, Sonna Rele, and more. In October 2024 she released her NextGen Funded EP ‘Rani’, and performed a headline launch show in Camden in November. Just one month later, the EP had already hit over 250,000 streams and counting.

RUÁ

RUÁ is a folk singer-songwriter based in Northern Ireland. She has previously written and performed tracks with the Ulster Orchestra, co-written with artists and producers including David Lyttle, and performed at Stendhal Festival as well as supporting other local artists and bands on tour (Dander, David Keenan, Ciaran Lavery).

Naima Adams

Naima Adams is a vocalist, producer and DJ from London. She has toured extensively as a backing vocalist with artists like Sampa The Great and Celeste, has previously been one of the Roundhouse's Resident Artists, and has collaborated with emerging artists including RBSN and Nadeem Din-Gabisi.

Mollie Coddled

Mollie Coddled is an artist from Malton, North Yorkshire. She has performed a UK tour with Ellie Dixon, played at YNOT and Dot to Dot Festival, and received press and editorial support from BBC Introducing, Amazing Radio, and Spotify New Music Friday.

Maple Ward

Maple Ward is a singer-songwriter based in Norwich, originally from Southampton. She performs regularly across East Anglia, and has previously performed at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival, and Latitude Festival.

Maddie Ashman

Maddie Ashman is a singer-songwriter and composer based in the South East of England. She reached 3rd place in the International Microtonal Guitar Competition, as well as runner-up in BBC's Live Lounge Competition, and her music has been performed by Del Sol Quartet at the Pacific Pythagorean Music Festival. She has also created an audiovisual installation at Aldeburgh Festival, which was later shown at COP-27 and Dartington's Thrive Festival. Her music has received praise from artists and tastemakers including Floating Points, Nico Muhly, Tom Grennan, and BBC Introducing, who named her track '6AM' their Track of the Week. Furthermore, she has performed across the UK and Europe, including at Latitude Festival, in Amsterdam, and Madrid; and has opened shows for Alfie Templeman, Tom Rosenthal and Tom Robinson, among others.

M. Yesekaon

M. Yesekaon is a hip-hop artist from North Wales. He has received support from Beacons Cymru via their Honey Sessions, and was named a Future Disruptor for his work in the North Welsh music industry. His music has also received repeated recognition from BBC Introducing.

Livvy K

Livvy K is a singer, actress, model and presenter from Manchester. This year, she has worked on campaigns for Superdrug, Boohoo, Primark, British Fashion Council, and more. In October 2024, she was a host of our Youth Music Awards, and she supported Morgan on her UK tour in the same year.

Callum Kershaw

Callum Kershaw is a graphic designer, producer and DJ from Lancaster, who currently resides in Glasgow. He currently designs and art-directs for a variety of club nights around the UK. He is also the founder of Lune, a non-hierarchical record label and creative platform which works in distributing music and publications, and organising events. Lune aims to provide a collective outlet for marginalised/peripheral artists and divergent, genreless music.

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Next Gen

NextGen Community Events

Our NextGen Community events give attendees aged 18-30 the chance to connect with other creatives in their local city, listen to panel discussions from industry experts and watch performances from emerging artists.

funding

NextGen Fund

Grants of up to £3,000 for 18 to 25 year olds creatives (aged up to 30 for those who identify as d/Deaf, Disabled or neurodivergent) in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

Next funding round opens 29/08/2025.