The Next Steps Community

Melanie Baker is one of the most exciting upcoming artists in the North East right now! Known for her captivating live set, Melanie has gone onto support the likes of dodie, Tessa Violet, Maisie Peters and Will Varley.

We paired Melanie up with experienced artist manager, Henry Carden, who supported their EP release and also helped bag a successful funding bid from Help Musicians. “I loved the programme - I learnt a lot from my mentor and received so many opportunities and built up a lot of confidence in myself.”

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Ebenezer Good is a producer, artist, recording engineer and DJ based in Newcastle. He has received support from BBC Radio 1, Radio 1 Xtra, and performed at festivals such as Kendal Calling and Dot2Dot.

We supported Ebenezer to release his debut single, helping to fund a music video and establish a distribution deal and marketing support. Next Steps also gave him the space and funding to develop and deliver an educational workshop around beat making.

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At only 18 years old, singer songwriter Isabel Maria has won awards such as North East Culture Award, Alan Hull and Northern Writers Awards. Her music has earned her praise from the likes of BBC Radio 1 and Rolling Stone Español.

Next Steps supported Isabel to film a series of live session videos to go alongside her EP, which was later released as a live EP in its own right. Isabel’s popular monthly mailing list was also developed through this programme, with support from marketing experts. Her streams and monthly listeners continue to grow, as do her accolades and awards!

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Hailing from coastal South Shields, singer-songwriter Patrick Gosling has been plucking away at his solo project for five years now, carving out his path into becoming one of the most prominent musical talents in North East England.

Next Steps facilitated Patrick in signing his first publishing deal, leading to his first ever Apple Music playlist and more exciting potential sync opportunities. He also filmed six high quality live session videos to go alongside his EP release and to help promote his first tour. 

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Steff Mundi is a Newcastle based established singer/songwriter. She has supported artists such as The Early Purple and Frankie Archer, and performed at the renowned Glasshouse International Centre for Music.

Steff utilised the Next Steps funding to purchase some essential equipment to enhance her live performances, leading to more gigs and touring opportunities. 

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Lily Mac is a very talented singer-songwriter who has been a part of our Young Musicians Projectfor several years, and now is starting to forge her own path.

From releasing her debut single, to performing at The Glasshouse and as part of a National Theatre production, Lily continues to gather momentum and has really benefited from the mentoring and workshops provided by Next Steps. “As a musician, this programme has helped me develop my confidence in being able to record and release my own music in the future.”

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A proud native of Newcastle, Frankie has taken the Geordie city by a storm, with back to back gigs, including three sold out headline shows, gracing the same festival lineups as ELIZA, Madness and Rudimental.

Working closely alongside industry expert and successful artist manager, Chelsea Wood, Frankie gained a wealth of knowledge and confidence around releasing and promoting her music - as well as getting access to some much needed studio time to work on new music. 

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Welsh singer/songwriter Ruby Kelly speaks brutally honest tales of her own life and the world around her. After moving to Sunderland, Ruby has become popular in the North East playing at Festivals such as Northern Kin and Summer Streets.

Mentoring from an established folk artist was essential for Ruby, especially when it came to navigating a new area and music scene. We helped to facilitate some live opportunities to help build that network and also support some studio time. “Next Steps allowed me to find myself as a musician and become more advanced when it came to production and release strategies.”

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Louis Wild is an upcoming composer based in the North East of England. He has composed scores for independent films such as ‘Cake Eater’ and the award-winning ‘Swine’.

Louis worked alongside experienced film composers, established connections within the music industry and used his funding towards renting a studio to record some live musicians for a film score. “It has been very valuable to me at this stage of my career; making contacts, learning new skills, and in general, giving me an improved sense of direction.” 

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David Mandele (Purle) is an artist and producer making some really interesting and exciting moves in the pop space.

Next Steps helped David progress as an artist, with mentoring around his single release, as well as developing his music production career through shadowing opportunities. “This programme has allowed me to rent out a professional studio and produce, mix and engineer a full song with an artist and it has been amazing!” 

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Ella Winter is an emerging indie pop singer/songwriter at the beginning of her career. Her debut single, produced by Josh Ingledew, is scheduled to be released in Summer 2025.

Working alongside fellow community member, Isabel Maria, Ella recorded her first two singles and worked on release strategies to launch her career as an artist. Through the programme she also accessed her first ever live opportunities and is now out performing her original music! 

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Borrelle (Ellie) is a singer-songwriter and multi instrumentalist, with a passion for the ukulele. After kick-starting her career in the North East, she has earned recognition from BBC Introducing, Amazing Radio, NARC and Crack Magazine.

Ellie worked alongside established local artist, Cortney Dixon, to incorporate tracks into her live show, as well as honing her craft as a live artist in general. “I feel the programme has given me new ideas as to where to take my music performing and I have set myself some new standards when thinking about how to perform at gigs.”

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Lottie Willis is an immensely talented singer songwriter from Sunderland. She has been championed by BBC Introducing and her music was featured on Spotify’s Fresh Finds. Lottie has performed with the likes of Lake Poets, Paul Smith of Maximo Park, Rag ‘n’ Bone Man.

Managing to cleverly budget her Next Steps bursary, Lottie record and released a full EP during her time on the programme! She also received support from marketing and distribution experts about release plans. 

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