BRIT Award-winning musician Sam Fender has donated £50,000 to Youth Music through ticket donations from his recent 'People Watching Tour'.

Earlier in his career, Fender was supported by Generator, a North East project funded by Youth Music.

The money will be match funded through our 'Rescue the Roots' campaign - a £2 million fundraising drive to protect the future of grassroots youth music projects across the UK. And the total sum, £100,000, will be go directly to music projects reaching young people in the North East. Youth Music already invests £866,000 each year in grassroots youth projects and emerging talent across the North East, supporting 23 organisations and individuals.

I’m proud to support Youth Music and their ‘Rescue the Roots’ campaign. Help for young people in The Arts is scarce - projects like these are so important.

Sam Fender

The investment tackles persistent regional inequalities highlighted in our Sound of the Next Generation (SONG) report: only half (52%) of young people in the north of England see themselves as musical in comparison to 62% of people in the south.

The findings point to ongoing structural barriers outside of London, including fewer local industry connections, less access to decision-makers, and limited opportunities to perform and progress.

We’re incredibly grateful to Sam for choosing to support Youth Music and young people in the North East. Music can change young people’s lives, but too many still face barriers to accessing it, just because of where they live. This crucial funding will help ensure opportunity isn’t dictated by postcode. 

It’s really encouraging to see more and more successful artists giving back to grassroots music, which is often where they learn their craft.

Carol Reid
Interim Co-CEO, Youth Music
Find out more about 'Rescue the Roots'

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