Pen in hand, ribbon in hair, 18 year old singer songwriter Isabel Maria has been shattering expectations since 2021.
Isabel’s alternative pop dialogues of mental health, human relationships, and self deprecation have earned her international praise from the likes of BBC Radio 1 and Rolling Stone Español.
Based in Sunderland, UK - a recently coined ‘music city’ - Isabel’s career had humble beginnings with secret songs written on her grandad’s old Casio. After generous support from the city’s Young Musicians Project, those songs hit the ears of the public, earning Isabel hundreds of thousands of collective streams and a frequent run of shows across the nation and beyond.
For fans of Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, and Gracie Abrams, Isabel’s music is a true showcase of her emotional vulnerability and biting wit. Having been named a BBC Introducing One to Watch for 2025, it’s a good idea to keep all eyes on Isabel Maria!
Awards
2025 BBC Introducing One to Watch
2024 North East Culture Awards Newcomer of the Year
2024 Alan Hull Award
2023 Northern Writers Award
2022 UK Songwriting Contest Finalist
2021 UK Songwriting Contest Finalist
For more information go to isabelmariamusic.com
Photo credit: howywhite.com
Who doesn’t feel better after a dance?!
TeesDance is the flagship organisation for dance in the Tees Valley, working to create a world where everyone - no matter who they are or where they live - has access to high-quality dance that enriches and transforms lives.
Led by experienced dance professionals and shaped by the vibrant communities it serves, TeesDance brings inspiring dance experiences directly to people's doorsteps, championing creativity, inclusion, and opportunity across the region. Whether this is a Disco Babies session in Loftus Town Hall; a mass outdoor dance event at Middlesbrough Mela; breakdancing classes at local festivals or a specialist practitioner class at ARC Stockton, since being established in 2021, TeesDance have worked with thousands of participants aged from 4 to 84 in every corner of the Tees Valley.
TeesDance Youth Company brings together talented young dancers aged 12–18 from across the Tees Valley to create and perform high-quality contemporary work. The company offers sustained training with professional artists, fostering creativity, technical development, and performance experience at regional platforms and festivals.
About the piece being performed at the Culture Awards...
LISTEN UP - A single spark can start a wave.
Listen Up! is a quiet revolution in motion - where small gestures spark great change. Born from the dancers’ own hopes for the world, each movement is a wish made visible, a thread in a tapestry of collective intent. Drawing on the precision of hands and the weight of words, the choreography weaves stillness and power, softness and force. A layered soundscape surges beneath it all - heartbeat, breath, and engine - propelling the dancers through space.
This is a meeting of voices, styles, and dreams - shaped into a shared language that asks: what if one step forward could shift the world?
Find out more at teesdance.org.uk
Marina Josephina is a Stockton-on-Tees artist blending soul, jazz, and R&B with heartfelt storytelling and powerhouse vocals.
Named BBC Introducing North East’s One to Watch 2025, her songs explore empowerment, love, and mental health with fearless honesty and soulful depth.
Known for her electrifying live shows, Marina has shared the stage with Alexander O’Neal and performed at Kendal Calling and Soundwaves Festival.
Chris’ work has taken him to Broadway, the National Theatre and many other large scale theatres all over the UK. He has also been known to wreak havoc in the Woolpack, Byker Grove and on George Gently’s 1960s Durham streets.
He has created a cockney psychopath for Richard Bean and a Geordie psychopath for Max Roberts and, while a theme is starting to emerge here, he has also shared Lee Hall’s quiet and sensitive Oliver Kilbourn with a New York audience. TV, film and stage work has seen him bring many a historical character back to life including William Armstrong, George Stephenson and Sherlock Holmes (albeit fictional).
Voiceover work has seen him take on anything from American rapper Xzibit to British royalty and more.
Find out more at chrisconnel.com
This talented singer-songwriter from Teesside, who tours the UK and internationally, will be performing at the Awards. It's under wraps for now, but details will be announced soon!
This act will be announced soon. Watch this space!
