'An integral part of life': Music producer at Leeds 2023 looking to shine a light on city's musicians

Music is one of the few things in life which everyone has an opinion about. I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t like music - even if you wouldn’t describe yourself as a die-hard music fan, I bet there’s one song that lights you up every time you hear it.

It’s an integral part of all of our lives, and of course it’s going to be central to our year of culture in 2023.

I’ve recently started a new role as Music and Commercial Events Producer at LEEDS 2023 after working in the music scene in Manchester for the past fifteen years.

People have assumed that music here in Leeds wouldn’t be as vibrant as in the North West, but they couldn’t be more wrong.

There are loads of independent producers, promoters and venues here, from Futuresound to Studio 12, Super Friendz to Music: Leeds. I’m writing this from O Festival in Rotterdam, a festival for opera, music and theatre, and I’m here with my colleagues from South Asian Arts-uk, Sable Radio and Opera North where we are collaborating to bring partnerships to Leeds.

That’s one amazing thing I’ve noticed about people working in the music industry in Leeds; everyone wants to support each other, because at the end of the day the music is what matters. There isn’t a rivalry like there is in a lot of other cities and that’s really refreshing.

Any type of music that you’re into, there’s someone making it in Leeds. There’s grime, electro, soul, classical, rock - absolutely every genre. The streets are alive and buzzing with creativity and I can’t wait to celebrate that as part of LEEDS 2023.

We’ve got some incredible plans for the music programme in 2023. We’ll be amplifying the amazing things already happening in Leeds and giving them an even bigger profile, whether it’s gigs at the Brudenell or performances as part of Leeds Jazz Festival.

It isn’t about reinventing the wheel, it’s about supporting the people already doing wonderful things and helping to elevate them.

It’s also really important that we celebrate the underrepresented voices in music and make sure that people can hear them across the city throughout 2023. We’ll be working with promoters in Leeds to find artists who are befitting of the city, who speak to Leeds and who celebrate what it’s all about.

We’ll also be bringing some established artists, both local and international, to surprising venues across Leeds. You’ll be able to see some of your favourite acts in places you wouldn’t expect to see them, and I can’t wait to be able to say more.

Our music events in 2023 will be accessible so that everyone can enjoy what’s going on throughout the year, and there'll be events large and small for everyone to enjoy - no matter what kind of music you like.

We also want people to get involved in making the music programme happen during 2023, whether you’re a budding musician or you want to be a producer. We want to leave a legacy well into the future and make sure that music in Leeds continues to grow and flourish.

Keep an eye on our website at leeds2023.co.uk for more info about what’s on, and I’ll see you at a gig (or two) very soon.