Finn Forster is a Middlesbrough based UK artist aiming for big things in 2026.
With support from the BBC, Finn has been a Track of The Week consideration for BBC Radio 1, completed a BBC Introducing Maida Vale Session and been playlisted by BBC Radio 2.
In 2025 Finn supported Stereophonics on their European arena tour and their UK Stadium tours, and also joined JADE for BBC Proms and The K’s and Bastille as an opener. He also played Reading and Leeds with BBC Introducing, opened the main stage at Kendal Calling and played Truck, Latitude, The Great Escape, SXSW Austin and Reeperbahn.
An advocate for inspiring more arts and culture in his hometown, Finn Hails from the industrial town of Middlesbrough in the North East of England and his songs come from places of real truth, deliver anthemic melodies and shine light on the trials and tribulations of his youth told through captivating vocals.
https://www.youtube.com/@finnforster
Pen in hand, ribbon in hair, 19 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
Umar is an actor, writer, director, and theatre maker, focused on socially engaged work.
Committed to creating work that celebrates inclusive participatory practice, Umar is one of the Tees Valley Artist of the Year 2025. This gives a platform to develop work for the global majority in the Tees Valley, and beyond.
His background as a first-generation migrant fuels his passion exploring global human stories, invariably centring on themes like belonging, family, community and displacement. He is a physical theatre specialist and a guest lecturer at The Northern School of Art.
His work has been widely presented, ranging from community centres, outdoor, studios and mid- scale theatres across national and international platforms. Additionally, he serves as a consultant for theatre makers throughout the country and is also the co-founder of Bijli, the inaugural company in residence at National Theatre of Scotland.
Please see the links below to some examples of Umar's work:
Welcome 2 the Jungle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIGOVI1xONs&t=5s
Work responses: https://youtube.com/shorts/0y1TzenjnlM?feature=share
Alex & Eliza: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLeplCBxE_Y
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
