Photo by Snap Rock and Pop

APPLY HERE

“The audience at Supersonic are so open and up for anything!” – Workshop Leader feedback from last year.

We are on the lookout for some wonderfully creative minds to bring us unusual, imaginative and engaging new workshops that will take place as part of the festival weekend (April 25 – 26).

From in-depth sessions to indulgent fun, we want you to craft something extraordinary for our curious audiences. Whether you work alone, as a group, or are part of an organisation, we want to hear ideas that embrace our passion for collaboration between both artists and audience alike.

We are a festival which celebrates expressive, challenging and generally out-there music and art. We remain inclusive, accessible and engaging to varied audiences both new and returning. We’re looking for fun, creative and joyous workshops to fit in with our festival environment! We’ve previously hosted workshops around singing, zines, upcycling, life-drawing, yoga, costume-making, sculpture – you name it!

Workshop proposals should present a singular, innovative idea that encapsulates a clear understanding of what Supersonic is about. If you have more than one idea we would need separate completed applications.

Workshops can exist as a more casual drop in session in our main festival site, or be a more focused session for a smaller group.

Whilst it’s dark and gloomy outside we’re looking forward to our 2026 programme containing some of experimental music’s central figures. Delve into this playlist and get ready for live shows from SUMAC (Old Man Gloom, ISIS), Colin Stetson (grammy-award winning saxophonist and composer), Orcutt Shelley Miller (Sonic Youth, Harry Pussy) and the prolific The Ex.

Supersonic Playlist! January: Upcoming in 2026!

1. Sonic Youth – ‘Cross The Breeze
2. The Ex – 148
3. Orcutt Shelley Miller – A Star Is Born
4. Harry Pussy – Showroom Dummies
5. SUMAC – Image of Control (II)
6. SUMAC and Moor Mother – Scene 1
7. Old Man Gloom – Heel to Toe
8. ISIS – In Fiction
9. Colin Stetson – The love it took to leave you
10. Orcutt Shelley Miller – A Long Island Wedding
11. The Ex – Monday Song
12. Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld – Captured (Blue Caprice OST)
13. The Ex – Wheel

SUMAC

WEDNESDAY 8 APRIL 2026
Castle & Falcon, Birmingham

| TICKETS |

We’re very excited to host the experimental sludge metal force SUMAC, a project that brings together three musicians whose combined work spans the outer reaches of metal, noise, and free-form improvisation. Known for their crushing heaviness, SUMAC operate at the intersection of visceral power and fearless experimentation.

April and May are looking stacked! Alongside Sumac, we’re also excited to host acclaimed saxophonist and composer Colin Stetson on 14th April, followed by a collaboration of underground legends in the form of Orcutt Shelley Miller (members of Harry Pussy, Sonic Youth, Comets on Fire) on 21st April. Then comes our 2026 limited‑edition Supersonic Festival on 25‑26 April, before experimental post‑punk band The Ex take the stage on 21st May.

| SUMAC TICKETS | COLIN STETSON TICKETS | ORCUTT SHELLEY MILLER TICKETS | THE EX TICKETS |

We are proud members of PRS Foundation, Talent Development Network (TDN) 2025. One of the many ways we are using this support is to produce a regular news item for UK music creators specifically designed to signpost the most significant national and international opportunities.

Please help us spread this work by sharing the newsletter resource with your peers, and also if you know of any other relevant opportunities that we haven’t included, please send any upcoming opportunities to us [email protected]

SIGN UP TO OUR MAILING LIST

Photo by Cat Dineley

BURSARY & GRANTS

Interstice Records: Artist Callout

Deadline: 5 January 2026

Interstice are seeking an artist/band to release an EP for. We’re on the hunt for sounds that lean into the unfamiliar, residing in the apertures between rigid boundaries and genres.

The artist/band will receive:

• A bursary of £960
• Digital and physical release of their EP
• Professional mixing and mastering of tracks
• Distribution and promotional campaign
• Option for collaboration with our team’s graphic designer
• EP launch party
• Support from our team throughout

For this release, artists must be 18+ and based in or able to travel to Glasgow.

YSWM: Rewired

Deadline: 11 January 2026

Celebrating 10 years since YSWN’s founding, the Rewired programme is offering a series of micro-commissions and larger opportunities for women and gender-diverse working with electronic music and sound art in Yorkshire and the Humber.

YSWM want to respond to exciting artistic ideas proposed by the YSWN community and embrace varied influences and practices: supporting a diverse cohort of music creators across a range of music genres.

Rewired is offering:

• 3 x micro commissions worth £750 each
• 1 x main commission worth £1,500

PRS Foundation: Early Career Promotion Fund

Deadline: 12 February 2026

Grants of up to £3,500 will be available to support a range of activity, including:

• The booking, programming and promotion of gigs, concerts, club nights, showcases, tours and other performances
• Costs associated with those activities (including venue hire, production, artist and/or DJ fees, crew fees, administration and other related costs)
• Capacity building (including mentoring, coaching, shadowing, workshops, masterclasses, and other skill building and networking opportunities)
• Other expenditure which helps grantees to programme a diverse range of artists, develop new audiences and build their skills

ARTIST DEVELOPMENT

Birmingham Contemporary Music Group: The Crossing Forward Exchange Residency

Deadline: 31 December 2025

A new exchange residency for composers in England and the Netherlands. The Crossing Forward Exchange Residency is a groundbreaking partnership between BCMG and Het Muziek (formerly Asko│Schönberg), Amsterdam. Collaborate with visionary musicians, tap into expert mentoring and technical support, and connect with audiences eager for innovation.

• A residency of six to eight weeks (continuous or split, to be agreed) in Birmingham for applicants based in the Netherlands, or Amsterdam for applicants based in England
• Working sessions with a small ensemble using acoustic and/or electronic instruments, with a conductor and/or soloist where relevant
• Immersion in host activities, including rehearsals, concerts, and learning events
• Financial support: we will provide a commission of up to 3,000 EUR (2,650 GBP); a bursary of up to 3,000 EUR (2,650 GBP); travel support of up to 1,500 EUR (1,300 GBP); and assistance with accommodation

Live & Local: Developing Artists in Rural Touring

Deadline: 4 January 2026

Training day for Midlands-based performers interested in rural touring. You could be a musician, a theatre maker, dancer or spoken word artist. You will also be paid £150 to attend.

22 January 2026 in Nottingham.

Flatpack Festival: Optical Soundwaves

Deadline: 11 January 2026

Artist development programme for a Birmingham based composer interested in writing and performing live music for film running from January – March.

• Workshops and masterclasses delivered by guest composers
• Opportunities to network and collaborate with other composers
• Scratch nights for work-in-progress performances (which could be existing projects or new ones developed as part of the programme)

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Centrala: Community Inclusion Officer

Deadline: 31 December 2025

Part time role to support the delivery of Centrala’s Migration Programme. The role involves building strong, trusting relationships with migrant communities, uncovering what matters to people, and helping them connect, participate, and influence positive change.

This month’s playlist is dedicated to our team’s favourite new releases of 2025. This includes everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Birmingham’s own Meatdripper. As well as Supersonic Alumni The None, Haress, Yves Tumour and Poor Creature to name a few. For your listening pleasure!

Supersonic Playlist! December: Best of 2025!
1. Backxwash – Wake Up
2. Rosalia ft Bjork & Yves Tumor – Berghain
3. aya – Off to Esso
4. Sumac & Moor Mother – Scene 1
5. Smote – The Linton Wyrm
6. Meatdripper – Homegrown
7. The None – In Civic Pride
8. Facs – You Future
9. Industry – War On The Poor
10. Ameretat – Ghazal-e-ātish / Posht-e-pardeh (Ode to the Fire / Behind the Veil)
11. France – B. Destino Scifosi (Partie 2)
12. Haress – Skylarks
13. Bruce Springsteen – Something In The Well

14. Milkweed – The Milk-fed Calf
15. Poor Creature – All Smiles Tonight

THE EX

THURSDAY 21 MAY 2026
Castle & Falcon, Birmingham

| TICKETS |

We’re very excited to welcome the ever-innovative underground experimentalists The Ex back to Birmingham. Emerging from Amsterdam’s political squats during the late 70s punk explosion, they quickly began pushing the limits of the genre, weaving in no-wave and noise influences before incorporating a wide array of ideas drawn from non-Western and non-rock sources. These include Hungarian and Turkish folk songs and, more recently, music from Ethiopia, Congo and Eritrea, while still maintaining the raw energy that motivated their formation.

April & May are looking stacked! Alongside The Ex in May, we’re also excited to host acclaimed saxophonist and composer Colin Stetson on 14th April, followed by a collaboration of underground legends in the form of Orcutt Shelley Miller (members of Harry Pussy, Sonic Youth, Comets on Fire) on 21st April! Then our 2026 limited edition Supersonic Festival on 25-26 April!

| COLIN STETSON TICKETS | ORCUTT SHELLEY MILLER TICKETS | THE EX TICKETS |

We are overjoyed that Supersonic Festival is returning to the Crossing Digbeth from 25 – 26 April! Get ready for a weekend packed with the best in experimental and DIY music!

Despite challenges with venues and rising costs, our team is hard at work curating a mighty fine lineup to bring our community together this April! A super limited number of EARLYBIRD TICKETS are on sale now!

| SUPERSONIC 2026 STATEMENT |

| TICKETS ON SALE NOW |

SOLIDARITY TICKET – We know that some of our long-standing fans can afford to pay more. Inspired by the global “solidarity ticket” movement, we have tiered tickets available. So if you are able to invest in Supersonic through a solidarity ticket, you’ll be subsidising a % of free tickets for others, whilst also ensuring the good ship Supersonic keeps sailing for many future festival editions.

We are also including a PAYMENT PLAN option again this year to help spread the cost, these must be purchased by January 30th and can be found here!

Sign up to our mailing list for all further updates – the first lineup announcement and standard weekend tickets will be available in the coming weeks!

Supersonic Festival 2026 – An Important Update

We’re delighted to let you know that we’ve now confirmed dates of 25-26 April for our 2026 Festival. This is a few months earlier than in recent years and the Festival will be something of a special Limited Edition, with fewer tickets available than this year – so please put the dates in your diary now and be ready to book as soon as we put it on sale to be sure of not missing out!

The reasons behind this decision are largely related to the changing nature of Birmingham. When we first began, Digbeth was our wild frontier, a place where anything felt possible. We built stages in old warehouses, turned empty shops into art spaces, made installations under viaducts, and filled the streets with the energy and creativity of our amazing community.

But times have changed. In recent years, we’ve fought hard to keep Supersonic rooted in the place where it all began, battling against rapid gentrification and the steady rise of faceless apartment blocks replacing the vibrant, independent spaces that once defined Digbeth.  On top of that, the rising costs of delivering an independent festival have made it harder than ever to keep doing what we do.

We look to our European peers with admiration (and, if we’re honest, a little envy): they’re supported by cities that invest heavily in culture, with incredible venues and public funding that make ambitious projects possible. Meanwhile, Birmingham has been a far more hostile environment for independent culture, unable to offer much support for the creativity that gives a city its soul.

While we’ve remained resilient, these challenges have taken their toll, financially and personally. So, for 2026, we’ve made the decision to produce this Limited Edition Supersonic Festival: a smaller, more intimate gathering focused around one main venue in Digbeth and a smaller capacity. This special edition will, of course, still embody everything you love about Supersonic – extraordinary artists, boundary-pushing sounds, and the joy of coming together as a community.

The earlier dates will also give us the breathing space over next summer to imagine what comes next for Supersonic, and to plan for 2027 and beyond. We don’t know yet whether that might mean building new partnerships with venues that share our values, finding a new home elsewhere and/or reinventing what Supersonic can be for the future. But we’re excited to be able to have the time to explore possibilities.

We need your support now more than ever. Buy your tickets early, not just to secure your spot, but to help us focus our energy on what truly matters: the music, the art, and the people who make Supersonic what it is.

Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for standing with us through it all. Together, we’ll shape the next chapter of Supersonic. We can’t do it without you!

Lisa Meyer, Artistic Director

ORCUTT SHELLEY MILLER

TUESDAY 21 APRIL 2026
Castle & Falcon, Birmingham

| MORE INFO | TICKETS ON SALE NOW |

We’re very excited to host a collaboration of underground legends, in the form of Orcutt Shelley Miller. This unique meeting of three boundary-pushing artists brings together decades of innovation across noise, experimental rock, free improv and beyond.

This month’s playlist is dedicated to songs, old and new, that our team have found themselves listening to ‘On Repeat’. The eclectic list ranges from slack trad band Milkweed, antifascist trans punk from Traidora, Supersonic alumni and tear-jerkers Funeral Folk from Maria W Horn + Sara Parkman, to the 12-minute version of Meat Loaf’s I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)– chosen by our Artistic Director Lisa, who’s had this on repeat ever since our festival afterparty!

Supersonic Playlist! November: On Repeat!
1. Pandagolff – New Balance
2. Shudder To Think – Red House
3. Bailter Space – Begin
4. Maria Somerville – Projections
5. The New Eves – Cow Song
6. Ameretat – Ghazal-e-ātish / Posht-e-pardeh (Ode to the Fire / Behind the Veil)
7. Mercy – Self Sabotage
8. Traidora – Una mujer trans sin pais
9. Milkweed – Exile of the Sons of Uisliu
10. OXN – Cruel Mother (Drokk Remix)
11. Meatloaf – I’d do anything for love (But I won’t do that) 12 mins version
12. Beverly Glenn Copeland – Let Us Dance
13. Funeral Folk Funeral Folk Maria W Horn + Sara Parkman – Till Margareta

COLIN STETSON + SPECIAL GUESTS

TUESDAY 14 APRIL 2026
Bradshaw Hall, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

| MORE INFO | TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY 17 OCT, 10AM |

Supersonic Festival are thrilled to welcome the extraordinary Colin Stetson to Birmingham for a spellbinding performance at the prestigious Bradshaw Hall in the Birmingham Royal Conservatoire. A renowned saxophonist and composer, Stetson is celebrated for his innovative approach to the instrument and his ability to push the frontiers of contemporary music.

To get into the Halloween spirit, here’s our Supersonic Halloween playlist – all the tracks we’re listening to this season: handpicked, mixed, and ready to haunt your speakers. Featuring Black Sabbath, Ragana, The Misfits, Thou, Witch Club Satan, Backxwash, Upchuck, YHWH Nailgun and more!

We’re hosting our very own Halloween party at The Castle & Falcon on 30th October, with Les Savy Fav, Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam, Not Soup & Monoxide Brothers (DJ)! We’ll be running a fancy dress comp too – best costume wins a prize – so get creative!

| TICKETS | MORE INFO |

We’re buzzing to announce that neurotic noise-pop greats Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam will be joining us for the Les Savy Fav Halloween party at The Castle & Falcon on Thursday 30th October! To top it off, we’ll also be running a fancy-dress competition – with a prize for the best costume!

| TICKETS |

Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam is a cult Birmingham indie-rock band known for their energetic live shows, catchy but eccentric songs, and fuzzed-out, guitar-heavy noise.

We’re delighted to share the outcome of this year’s Black Lodge Press Collective Poster Making Workshop at Supersonic Festival! Through cut and paste collage, ink experiments, and DIY printing techniques, our audience came together to create a unifying poster. It reflects the shared values of Supersonic, Black Lodge Press, and our brilliant audience, something that feels especially important in these worrying times. Born from collective creativity, it stands proudly for music, for art, for life, for the death of fascism!

Download your free high-quality PDF version, and feel free to use it however you like!

| DOWNLOAD HERE |

Backxwash by Steve Gerrard

We are once again completely heart warmed by the incredible press, artist and audience response from this year’s festival. A huge thank you to all that joined us in creating joyous memories together. The festival wouldn’t be what it is without the support from our wonderful audience.

“the festival still manages to not just survive, but thrive. It could even be argued that the tougher things get in the city around them, Supersonic’s power increases in reaction. This vitality, you sense, is thanks to two things – firstly, the unbroken sense of community among the crowd, who are as friendly and inclusive as it comes, buying entirely into the festival’s wider DIY ethos. Secondly, the programming itself, which is faultless.” The Quietus
| Read Review |

“Supersonic is as innovative and intelligent as festival bills get. Spread across the buzzing industrial creative hub of Digbeth in Birmingham, its boundary-shattering line-ups proudly provide a home for the heavy, the weird and the experimental. It wears its values on its sleeve, championing individuality, solidarity and defiance in the face of oppressiveness from the gloomy world outside.” Kerrang 
| Read Review |

*****
“the festival was once more a spectacular success.” The Arts Desk

| Read Review |

” Heavy and experimental are the watchwords for Supersonic, but this is a festival concerned less with genre boundaries than with providing a space where undiluted creativity is allowed to run amok. It has been running since 2003, and is one of the most successful small festivals in the country. It is also, arguably, the best.

Supersonic can claim to be not just the best small festival in the country, but the best of any size.” Klof Mag
| Read Review |

“Norwegian black metal trio Witch Club Satan made a thrilling, theatrical and utterly terrifying UK debut at Birmingham’s Supersonic Festival” Louder
| Read Review |

BBC 6 Music Freak Zone Supersonic 2025 Special
| Listen Here |

Witch Club Satan by Sam John Jones

“the diversity and dynamism of Supersonic suggests an organizational wherewithal that at the very least respectable… if not marvellous.” Knotfest
| Review Here |

“The festival’s precarious annual existence makes each edition feel precious rather than permanent. Every year brings fresh threats, yet Meyer and her team continue to pull rabbits from increasingly expensive hats. This resilience isn’t just admirable; it’s essential. In a world trending toward homogenization, Supersonic stands as proof that the weird, the challenging, and the genuinely experimental still have a place.” Montreal Rocks

| Review Here |

“The dedication to showcasing such diverse artistry, and remaining fiercely independent against the ever-growing threat of gentrification, could be felt throughout. If you’ve been on the fence about going in the past, then you need to go. You won’t be disappointed.” Loud Women

| Review Here |

“Battling mounting odds, and the encroaching horde of dead-eyed money men, the Supersonic crew keep the torches burning for the experimental and the just plain weird. Despite continuing venue difficulties, 2025’s edition of the festival was as great as ever, a defiant celebration of musical exploration and the shared magic of performance.” Echoes and Dust

| Friday Review | Saturday Review | Sunday Review |

“This year’s Festival was an exercise in overcoming obstacles for the organisers, who pulled off a faultless programme of events against the odds, as Lisa Meyer and her crew gave us a Pandora’s box of sonic delights to leave us all inspired, invigorated, and definitely making plans to return next year, wherever and however they present this incredible meeting of minds.” Devolution Magazine

| Review Here |

“Diversity has always been a key pillar of Supersonic. Not just in terms of demographics – the festival’s assortment of experimental acts guarantees each year the boundaries of heaviness are pushed in exciting new directions.” Metal Hammer

“Songs about loved ones, vocal meditations, musical trance, folk or post-metal jazz – this year’s Supersonic showed how music allows us to participate in rituals in many ways.” Nowe Idzie Od Morza

| Review Here |

| Supersonic in pictures | BBC Birmingham

The Supersonic Festival 2025 timetable is here!
Plan your weekend of adventurous music, DIY culture, and mind-expanding experiences in the heart of Digbeth start plotting your journey.
Tickets for Friday/Weekend go offline at 15:30 but you will be able to purchase them at our box office from 17:00

| BUY TICKETS | 

Location & Opening Hours:
Zellig Building, Digbeth, Birmingham
Saturday 14:00 – 21:00
Sunday 13:00 – 21:00
Free entry – all welcome

Supersonic Festival’s much-loved Market Place is back for 2025 this year housed at the Zellig Building in the heart of Digbeth and best of all, it’s free and open to the public all weekend.

A vibrant hub of independent culture, the Market Place is home to record labels, zine-makers, illustrators, DIY designers, and pedlars of all manner of curiosities. From rare vinyl to handmade goods, anarchist prints to folklore-inspired art, visitors can explore an eclectic mix of stalls, alongside band and festival merchandise from this year’s stellar lineup.

This year’s Market Place features an incredible range of independent vendors including Alt Vinyl, Another Realm, Black Lodge Press, Boswellian Artefacts, Bunny Bissoux, Dao Dao Studio, Dog Section Press, and Edgeworld Records.

Whether you’re crate-digging, sipping tea, dancing to a DJ set or tucking into a piping-hot roti, the Supersonic Market Place is your go-to destination for discovery, inspiration, and independent culture in full force.

But the Market Place is more than just shopping it’s a space to connect, unwind, and get inspired. Across Saturday and Sunday, the space will host a lively programme of free, drop-in workshops, talks, and guest DJ sets. Highlights include:

Saturday

• Backxwash in Conversation
• Workshops with SEEMAWORLD & Black Lodge Press
• DJ Sets from The Quietus, Pan Pan (weird & wonky selections), and Hipkiss & Graney (camp chaos from disco to video games)

Sunday

• Witch Club Satan in Conversation
• Workshops with SHELANU & Supersonic Me
• DJ Sets from MCSAIMA (Desi beats), Alastair Shuttleworth (avant-garde), Die Das Der (noise!), and ANAWIM (femme pop to Riot Grrrl)

Feeling peckish? We’ve got you covered with incredible street food traders serving up delicious dishes throughout the weekend:

• Beet The System – A vegan co-op serving legendary fresh tempeh and loaded chole fries to die for.
• Newdlez & Co – Authentic Thai street food straight from the heart of Bangkok with a homemade sauce that’s vegan and gluten-free.
• Poutine Punks – Canada’s messiest comfort food with attitude: crispy fries, rich gravy, squeaky curds and bold toppings.
• Really Awesome Coffee – Top-notch barista coffee, velvety hot chocolate, smoothies, frappes and more.
• Sri-Licious – Freshly made Sri Lankan street food packed with bold flavours and loads of vegan and gluten-free options.

Plus, the Supersonic Tea Room will keep you fuelled with a tempting selection of cakes (vegan and gluten-free options included) and our all-time favourite pocket snack: the mighty samosa. There will also be a Purity Bar serving a range of ales, ciders and non alcoholic options.

Grab a treat, rest your trotters, and soak up the sounds in this relaxed, community-focused space.

Plus shops open in Zellig The Goth Playground / House of Thieves / Doctor Oculus and more

BUY TICKETS | MORE INFO

Rooftop Saturday at Supersonic 2025 is where chaos meets community in a joyful whirlwind of underground delights, your perfect hangout spot to soak up the atmosphere and let loose.

This year’s rooftop stage features Karl D’Silva, whose critically acclaimed debut album blends alt-pop with South Yorkshire’s electronic legacy, MADRIGIRL (aka Jude Rees), conjuring otherworldly soundscapes from ancient instruments, and ZD Grafters, the father-son duo tearing up genre boundaries with raw, jazz-infused energy. Dark Mountain (DJ set) brings together Robyn (Catgut) and Weaver (CORE. Festival) for dancefloor weirdness, while 0121queercore offers a fierce DIY space for queer expression, riffs, and radical joy.

Don’t miss the rare collaboration between Smote x One Leg One Eye, a transcendent ritual of motorik rhythms and abyssal drones, or The Palestinian Sound Archive DJ set, preserving culture through decolonial sound and storytelling. And of course, Pocket Signs return with their annual dose of rooftop mayhem, equal parts anarcho-pagan theatre, rave chaos, and am-dram absurdity. Expect the unexpected.

Supersonic update – important news!

Once again, we’ve been pushed out by developers in Digbeth. The space we’ve used for years that has housed our beloved marketplace and food court, the beating heart of Supersonic, is no longer available to us, pulled out from under us just weeks before the festival. This isn’t an isolated incident, sadly it’s part of a long and painful pattern. Over the years, we’ve slowly been losing vital spaces that once made Supersonic possible. We were pushed out of the Custard Factory after more than a decade of calling it home. Then, last year, we lost the warehouse space for our main stage to yet another developer and relocated to the O2 Institute.

While we continue to make the best of that situation, it comes at a serious cost as we lose the ability to run our own bars, a crucial source of income, and have had to absorb significant hire fees working with other venues. These financial hits don’t just make things harder; they put the very future of Supersonic at risk.

Make no mistake: what’s happening in Digbeth is a slow erasure of independent culture. Supersonic was born here in 2003, when Digbeth was a raw and wild frontier for creativity. We built installations under viaducts and hosted stages in warehouses. Now, those spaces are being replaced with soulless, profit-driven developments that leave no room for culture to breathe.

But we are not giving up.

Thanks to the grit and determination of our team, we’ve secured a new home for this year’s festival hub at the brilliant Zellig Building. Perfectly located between our two main venues XOYO and the O2 Institute, this space on Saturday and Sunday will house the food court, a Supersonic bar and tea room, seating, talks, workshops, guest DJs, and our fantastic market of independent stallholders, plus band and festival merch.

We also have bars at XOYO main live space, who are working with us as a genuine partner. Both Zellig and XOYO are helping us reclaim some of the income we’ve lost elsewhere. That bar income is absolutely crucial to making Supersonic viable.

So we’re asking, no, urging you to support us by using the bars at Zellig and XOYO throughout the weekend – every drink you buy helps us stay viable.

Please pick up something special from our incredible stallholders, and support our delicious food traders. Every purchase you make is a show of solidarity, not just with Supersonic, but with the wider independent community that makes this festival what it is.

Supersonic has always been more than a festival. It’s a community.  And right now, we need that community more than ever.

If you believe in independent music, in bold ideas, in the spaces where real culture happens, not curated by developers, but created by people, stand with us.

With love from Supersonic x

We are proud members of PRS Foundation, Talent Development Network (TDN) 2025. One of the many ways we are using this support is to produce a regular news item for UK music creators specifically designed to signpost the most significant national and international opportunities.

Please help us spread this work by sharing the newsletter resource with your peers, and also if you know of any other relevant opportunities that we haven’t included, please send any upcoming opportunities to us [email protected]

SIGN UP TO OUR MAILING LIST

Photo by Snaprockpop

BURSARY & GRANTS

Creative Debuts: Black Artists Grant

Monthly.

One-off £500 grant to be given to black artists every month.

A no-strings attached grant for black artists to be spent making new work, buying equipment or materials, travel, research, visiting exhibitions or conferences, or to even just cover some life expenses.

ARTIST DEVELOPMENT

Artist Call out: Wolverhampton Art Gallery: More Art Inc Programme

Deadline: 31^st August 2025

Seeking 10 emerging artists (within first 5 years of their practice) to be given exhibition opportunities and to take part in third instalment of “MORE ART INC.”

Duration: Up to 10 days, Oct 2025 – March 2026 (Sessions will be between the hours of 10:30am – 4:30pm – Weekdays – Day and timings to be confirmed.

“MORE ART INC” is an artist incubator program facilitated by Wolverhampton Art Gallery. Applicants with strong connected to Wolverhampton and the Black Country area are encouraged.  The programme will provide mentorship and support to develop their practice alongside 20 days of access to space and equipment and a £250 bursary.

BOM’s Immersive Arts Bootcamp

Opportunity for participants to learn how to use Unreal Engine 5 to create unique Immersive projects with sessions covering Blender, virtual production and AI, with additional drop-in sessions to support learning. This course is free and funded by WMCA given participants live within the West Midlands. Each course lasts 12 weeks. Please note this is an intermediate skill level bootcamp for participants aged 19+. There are two start dates to choose from September – November 2025 or January – March 2026. Participants required to complete 100 hours of guided training over 12 weeks.

Field Studies 2025 International Summer School: A Choral Method. LUCA School of Art, Ghent

Field Studies is a transdisciplinary summer school exploring new approaches to creative practice and collaboration in art, performance and music, led by an international group of artists and practitioners. The programme alternates between open workshops, talks by artists and visiting lecturers, satellite events in the city, and collective practice in smaller studios where students and tutors create new work. The programme starts on Wednesday 10^th September 11am and ends 3pm on Sunday 14^th September 2025.

There is no interview, audition or selection process.

The fee for the Field Studies 2025 is £430 per participant.

Earthsonic Local: Create Music Telling the Story of Climate Change

Deadline: 10:00am, 1^st September 2025

EarthSonic Local is a UK-wide initiative uniting 8 local venues in empowering 18-30 year olds to create new music, telling the story of climate change.

At the end of the projects participants who have completed the course will receive a certificate of completion from Music and Sonic Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University. Original research and course evaluation will be conducted independently by researchers from Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Hull and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

BBC Young Composer

Deadline: 25^th September 2025

BBC Young Composer creates opportunities and resources for 12–18-year-olds across the UK who make their own music. Winners participate in a tailored development programme working with a mentor composer on a project with the BBC Concert Orchestra, culminating in a performance of broadcast opportunity.

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Project Coordinator – Big Bear Music and Birmingham Jazz & Blues Festival

Recruiting for a full-time, permanent staff member to support all areas of the company’s administration and marketing.

Young Trustee: Kent Music

Deadline: 8^th August 2025

Seeking new trustee volunteers aged 16-25 who may be music students, young creatives or someone eager to learn how charities run to join Kent Music’s board in helping widening access to high-quality music education by working closely with schools, colleges and cultural organisations.

Creative Call out: Upskill & Upgrade – Creative Scratch Day

Deadline: 8^th August to Pitch your creative idea

We’re looking for 4 artists/ creatives to share or test a creative idea, workshop or activity as part of a Scratch- style event led by and for the Inclusive Network. You must register or already be a registered member of the Inclusive Network to apply. Creative Scratch Day is a practical and informal space to test or share creative ideas, workshops or activities on 3^rd October, 4pm-8pm at Centrala, Birmingham.

Your idea should link to one or more of the following themes: Wellbeing, Upskill & Upgrade, Activism/ Sector Change/ EDI or Interactive Participatory. In return a £200 honorarium will be given to support planning, materials, time and travel.

Sonica Open Call 2026 

Deadline: 12 noon Monday 25^th August 2025

Sonica is a 11-day biennial festival in Glasgow, dedicated to world-class visual sonic arts. The award-winning festival will take place across the city from Thurs 24^th Sep – Sun 4^th October 2026. Only one project is accepted per applicant. This opportunity is open to artists at any career stage from all backgrounds in the Uk and Ireland working in: Sonic installations (especially for outdoor or site-specific spaces), Audio-visual performances, and Real-time visuals for performance

A fee of £750-£1000 is offered alongside travel, accommodation and per diems for artists outside Glasgow

Artist Call out: Smethwick Puppetry Festival 2026

Smethwick Puppetry Festival are looking for artists or companies with a show involving puppetry. Smethwick Puppetry Festival will run from 14^th – 22^nd February 2026 during half-term holiday.

This year’s 2025 festival featured wonderful puppet shows for families, performances for adults, puppetry workshops, exhibitions and more—taking place across 10 community venues in Smethwick.

Seema Mattu: Saheli Open Call – Band Members Wanted

Deadline: Monday 15^th September

Incidental Artist Seema Mattu is calling out for musicians and vocalists to join Saheli, a new sonic collective which will be part of the making of an artwork ​that will launch at Eastside Projects in May 2026, before touring to FACT (Liverpool) and Focal Point Gallery (Southend) across 2026 and 2027. This is an evolving project that will develop with the band.

• Looking for 5 band members: musically minded South Asians in the UK with priority given to South Asian queer, trans, non-binary, indigenous, a dalit (or self-preferred term), and/ or a woman.
• Each member paid £2500 for regular band rehearsals in Birmingham from November 2025.
• Stages of forming Saheli, auditions and rehearsals will be filmed for documentary footage.
• 18+ to participate

Carousel Trustee: South East England

Deadline: Midnight 30^th September 2025

Carousel is looking for new trustees to join our team. We support learning disabled people to achieve their artistic ambitions and are looking for people who share our vision for excellence, access and equality in the arts.

Music and Sound Facilitators 2025 Call outs

Deadline: 1^st February 2026

Oxford Contemporary Music (OCM) and Music at Oxford (MaO) are seeking to expand and diversify their networks of music facilitators who can deliver music/sound workshops and projects in Oxford and Oxfordshire. Many of their workshops are about using music and sound as a tool to engage and deepen learning, enabling accessible participation regardless of musical ability and experience.

Artist Curator Traineeship 2025-27: Eastside Projects

Deadline: Friday 3^rd October

Join the Eastside Projects team and learn how to be an artist-curator through hands-on experience. This is a fixed term contract for 18 months, paying £12.60 per hour.

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We’re thrilled to welcome The Bug feat. Warrior Queen, and Hang Linton to the Supersonic Festival 2025 line-up. They join an already formidable programme that promises a powerful celebration of sound, resistance, and radical joy.

We’re excited to host The Bug feat. Warrior Queen at this year’s Supersonic Festival, bringing together two formidable forces for a powerful, bass-driven live experience. Their collaboration promises an electrifying set where Warrior Queen’s commanding voice meets The Bug’s seismic production, creating a soundscape that’s raw, immersive, and unforgettable.

The Bug is the visionary project of Kevin Martin, known for his punishing live shows and an expansive catalogue including Techno Animal, King Midas Sound, and Razor X Productions. . His sets are renowned for their intensity, fusing industrial dub, dancehall, grime, and acid ragga with collaborations from MCs like Flowdan, Dis Fig, and Manga Saint Hilaire. Warrior Queen, born in Kingston, Jamaica, brings a lifetime of musical heritage, rising from local sound systems to global stages. Her music is a powerful blend of reggae, dancehall, and UK underground influences. She’s collaborated with industry legends including Dub Gabriel, Skream, and Lee “Scratch” Perry, and remains a dynamic presence on the scene.

“Its always a pleasure to come back to Birmingham for the mighty SUPERSONIC festival… Without doubt one of my favourite festivals, full stop. It has never compromised, and always stayed fiercely 101% independent, which i guess you could say I also aspire to myself… So I would definitely call Lisa Meyer and her crew my soul sisters/brothers. This year, I will come back to perform with Warrior Queen. Getting the call from Supersonic, certainly brings back amazing memories, as Warrior and I played the inaugral Supersonic festival in 2003(Alongside Coil, and LCD Sound System, if memory serves correct), we have zero intention of mellowing..lol…Fire will be in the house, fully… We are psyched !” – The Bug

Hang Linton is a fearless sonic rebel from Leeds, fusing avant-funk, dance-punk, and breakbeats into a raw, unapologetic sound that challenges the polished and conventional. Armed with a sampler, synths, and relentless energy, Hang Linton channels the spirit of counterculture movements, delivering performances that are both chaotic and deeply authentic. Named one of NME’s HOT 100 for 2025 and a BBC 6 Music “Hot Tip,” they’ve earned praise for their debut EP Demonstrations, including a 4/5-star review from NME, and have shared stages with Yard Act and Kimya Dawson. Their intense, euphoric sound earned them DJ Mag’s Electronic Music Award, making them one of the UK’s most exciting new artists. As Capsule, we were lucky enough to host Hang Linton in Bradford in celebration of the 1 in 12 and Bradford City of Culture 2025. There, Hang brought an unforgettable mix of intense energy and pure joy to the stage, captivating everyone in the room. We’re beyond excited to see them perform again at Supersonic!

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This year, Supersonic Festival teams up with NeoAncients, in association with Weird Walk, for a special rooftop takeover on Sunday — a celebration of folklore, radical histories, and sonic ritual.

Curated with a deep reverence for ancestral knowledge and future imaginings, the line-up includes live performances by Jennifer Reid, reviving 19th-century broadside ballads and working-class song; Dawn Terry, whose accordion, hurdy-gurdy, and vocals evoke earthy, intimate storytelling; Calliope, a folk-informed collective exploring diasporic futures and lost pasts through sound and enchantment; and Elspeth Anne, whose stark, spellbinding songs echo with defiance and raw beauty.

Plus, two unmissable DJ sets: a folk horror psych set from Fliss Kitson of The Nightingales, and a special guest appearance from long-time Supersonic friend Voice of the Seven Woods, blending deep psych-folk treasures.

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We have just released a limited number of day tickets for Supersonic Festival 2025

Friday 29 August
Big Special / Mermaid Chunky  / Moin / Skloss with visuals by Thomas Hooper / Water Damage
Zahra Haji Fath Ali Tehrani / Zu  / Hesska DJ Set

Saturday 30 August
Aunty Rayzor / aya / Backxwash / Buñuel / Death Goals / The HIRS Collective / Meatdripper
OMO / Penelope Trappes / Rún / Witch Club Satan + more to be announced

Sunday 31 August
Abdullah Miniawy / Bridget Hayden and the Apparitions / Cinder Well / Divide and Dissolve
Hedgling / Jackie-O Motherfucker / Maria W Horn + Sara Parkman present Funeral Folk
Poor Creature / Rich(ard) Dawson / Six Organs of Admittance + more to be announced

Witch Club Satan

We’re incredibly excited to welcome Backxwash for a UK exclusive, bringing her blistering blend of industrial hip-hop and metal to the Supersonic stage. This year also sees the first-ever UK performances from Witch Club Satan, a Norwegian , all-female black metal trio whose ritualistic live shows fuse primal energy with feminist rage and Funeral Folk, the collaboration between Swedish artists Maria W Horn and Sara Parkman, evoking themes of memory, loss, and the natural world.

Moin

After selling out the Barbican, Moin will bring their post-punk-inflected, experimental sounds to Supersonic, offering audiences a chance to witness their dynamic live performance. Also joining the line-up are Poor Creature, who are made up of members of Lankum and Lanless, Water Damage, an experimental super group from Austin, Texas, known for their hypnotic, longform compositions built on repetition, feedback, and sheer intensity.

Zahra Haji Fath Ali Tehrani

We’re also delighted to add a DJ set from Hesska, alongside a special performance by Zahra Haji Fath Ali Tehrani, the Iranian/Irish vocalist and composer.

And this is just the beginning — we’ll be announcing more programme highlights in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!