Performers and Panellists

TU3SDAY is a genre expansive electronic music artist and Producer/DJ hailing from Birmingham. They create musical experiences designed to provide spaces for joy and healing. Existing at the intersections of being Black, genderqueer and Disabled, TU3SDAY’s relationship with music is part of a survival informed practice as a way to process complex emotions and create more space in the industry for people like them.

TU3SDAY was recently included in Jamz Supernova's ‘Class of Supernova: ones to watch for 2023’. After playing Birmingham Pride this summer and having their international debut closing at Sins Limites Festival in Oviedo, Spain, TU3SDAY is returning to study Electronic Music Production at BIMM Birmingham on a Spotify scholarship to continue aligning their passion and artistry with their technical ability.

Hailed a ‘Black Woman at The Forefront of the UK Jazz Scene’ (Black Ballad), Ni Maxine is a Neo- Jazz Singer-Songwriter; a Black British woman sparking intergenerational conversations for change, exploring themes of home, identity, self-esteem & belonging. Described as Erykah Badu & Gil Scott-Heron’s lovechild, her conscious & political lyricism has taken her to the main stage at Liverpool’s Africa Oyé & London Jazz Festival. With a BBC Introducing highlight session under her belt, a live performance broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s J to Z and her debut self-released single ‘Strange Love’ supported by Jamz Supernova, Jamie Cullum & China Moses, played across Jazz FM, Radio 1, 1Xtra & Selector Radio (internationally), Ni Maxine is one to watch.

Joe Winter is a London born musician, producer, singer and songwriter. With a background in fine art and an eclectic range of sonic influences, they make music that defies genre and comparison alike. With a practice defined by an emotive search for meaning, Joe attempts to understand and portray their dreamlike inner life through their music. Carried by their unique vocal tone and tight production, the result is raw self expression – a sound both haunting and elating in the same breath. Following previous collaboration with Oliver Sim, Jamie XX, Låpsley, Infinite Coles and Bok Bok, Spring 2023 saw the release of their debut EP, ‘in time I will glow, in the dark I am grown'.

Singer-songwriter, producer and visual artist, Sarah Angel has been sprinkling her creative magic for the past 8 years. Her unique approach to her craft has led to her working with the likes of The Rolling stones, Sassoon, and interviewed by BBC radio 5 live, BBC radio 6 and ITV news. Her first single was featured in Foot-asylums Women's Winter Fashion Campaign – with follow up single ‘Deliciously mango’ featured on publications universally including Fenty Beauty, Kyra TV, PREQUEL and The Shade Room. Miss Angel has taken to many stages from the House of Commons to Kendal Calling, and supporting the likes of Alfa Mist, Judi Love and more.

Boodzino (or 'Boodz') is an actor, rapper, singer and model based in South London. He is one of the lead members of the Spit Game collective, often with viral TikToks. His music draws on the sounds of American Hip Hop combined with a modern, British rap sensibility. Boodzino's bouncy flows - combined with clever tongue-in-cheek bars - are immediately recognisable. Alongside his music, Boodz is a talented professional actor with a range of professional credits, including co- writing and starring in his own short film 'Black Boy’ - shortlisted for an award at a BAFTA- qualifying film festival. He is currently lead in the film MONIQUE which he also co-wrote, performing alongside NETFLIX star Adele James.

Growing up in South London, Croydon, conscious rapper TL has a raw-ness to his sound and lyrics reflective of artists twice his age. His intelligent wordplay reflects his experiences and surroundings growing up in modern London, matched with energetic flows and hard-hitting delivery. TL's partnership with producer Strange Dreamz has helped him refine a unique brand to his sound, self-titled 'Cinematic Real Rap', delivering a soundtrack - inspired by the modern sounds of drill combined with orchestral film music - to the city-scape of young, Black London. His experiences over those years - losing friends to serious youth violence and jealousy, being repeatedly confronted by systemic racism or simply growing past the innocence of youth – has hardened his lyrics and matured his brand. TL is also a talented actor, appearing in a range of projects being shot across the UK.

Winners of the 2022 Live Performance Award - Spit Game celebrates, develops and represents the freshest talent from London and the excellence & vibrancy within young Black Cultures. The community celebrates and champions each other and represents talent at a range of stages within people’s creative careers and support with their creative, business and brand development. Through young talent, they aim to be a leading voice in Black excellence and to reclaim the culture and its vibrant potential. They want to challenge their creatives to transform the narrative to share and shape positive stories and aspirations as industry leaders.

Marla is a bassist, DJ and producer based in Bristol. She started DJing and producing in 2020 and has created mixes for BBC Intro and 6 Music. Her influences range from deep house to samba; soukous to broken beat. With her NextGen Fund grant, Marla will release and market a new five track dance music EP titled 'All That We Have'. Marla recently toured with Loyle Carner in his live band.

A freelance presenter from London, Nieema first worked with Youth Music as a Vox Pop Presenter at the 2021 Youth Music Awards. A natural on camera, the following year, Nieema applied for the Awards Host role and was successful. Meanwhile, she had secured an internship at BBC Radio 1Xtra after seeing the opportunity in one of Youth Music's NextGen Community newsletters, and has since progressed to be one of their Assistant Producers.

Nieema says: “Youth Music has been huge for my career because prior to being a part of the Youth Music Awards I was doing administration roles for various agencies and I felt unfulfilled and unhappy with what I was doing and also confused on my next steps. I had been working on my own passion projects to do with music and presenting and was so grateful that they gave me a chance to make it so much more real for me. Being a part of the awards for the past two years and being paid to present and host made me realise I could really do this as a career and it’s also given me the materials I need to apply for other things. On top of gaining my confidence in my abilities, I’ve gained valuable experience and a community of people in the space that I truly want to thrive in which I’m so grateful for.”

Talia Andrea is a student music journalist and events assistant based in London, hoping to make music events a viable full-time career. She is also the founder of all-female festival, FEMMESTIVAL

FEMMESTIVAL is an all-new, all-female music festival which seeks to close the gap women often face in the live music sector, by showcasing the women making waves in London's local music scene. 2023 marks the festival's inaugural year, and hopefully the first of many. The project has been backed by the National Foundation For Youth Music, whose NextGen Fund is made possible thanks to support from their funding partners: players of People's Postcode Lottery, TikTok, and Dr. Martens Foundation.

ALT BLK ERA are alternative music sister duo, Nyrobi and Chaya, 19 and 16 years old, who break the rules by reaching outside of traditional expectations. Their genre-bending music is filled with heavy basslines, electric guitars and tongue-twisting rap, where their softer tracks compile of dark strings, haunting harmonies and a chilling, circus-type vibe.

The pair's musical inspiration includes The Prodigy, Stromae, Ashnikko, and Rico Nasty.

Vanessa Threadgold is a music industry executive and law graduate based in London. In 2017, Vanessa created the UK’s first female only music studio, Cactus City, which became a conversation starter in the #MeToo era, highlighting the need for a space like this and the reasons why women leave the music industry earlier than men. In 2021, Cactus City relaunched as a movement for change within the music industry, with a specific focus on making recording studio spaces safer, and friendlier for female and gender minority users.

Working at JVO Management, Vanessa is known as knowledgeable and caring, providing the foundations for artists to succeed in all elements of their professional lives.