Jazz North seeks northern artists for its Northern Line live touring support programme

Jazz North, the development agency for jazz in the North of England, has been supporting artists to take the next step in their live careers since its inception in 2012 through its Northern Line programme. The scheme is a transformational artist development programme, offering dedicated one-to-one support across an artist’s career alongside a live touring bursary up to £3000. The Northern Line bursary scheme is open for applications until Monday 18 December.

Commenting on the scheme Jazz North CEO, Chris Bye, said: “Jazz North is proud to announce the launch of the latest round of Northern Line. This is the most established development programme for supporting live jazz music in the North and is an invaluable resource for artistic and career development. Wherever you live across the North East, North West, or Yorkshire - This is your opportunity.”

Northern Line artists are chosen through an open application process with an invited expert advisory panel. For its 11th year, the panel includes Grace Pitkin (Serious), Nishla Smith (Opera North, past NL artist), Charlotte Bowen (The Culture House), Agnese Daverio (FMLY Agency, JPN Trustee), Aaron Casserly Stewart (Piece Hall, Grammy-winner) and Paul Duhaney (Africa Oye).

Successful applicants will perform at the Northern Line Showcase at Manchester jazz festival (mjf) on Sunday 19th May 2024 in front of a public audience and invited music industry guests. mjf is the North’s most celebrated jazz festival, with a reputation for fostering rising jazz talent through their own bespoke development schemes and innovative events programme.

Steve Mead, mjf’s Artistic Director, adds: “The Jazz North Northern Line Showcase is such a natural fit for mjf, as both organisations share a passion for celebrating northern talent. mjf audiences can look forward to the surprise, energy and diversity of the new roster, presented for the first time at our free opening weekender at First Street.”

Northern Line opens for applications at midday on Tuesday 21 November. Applications close at midday on Monday 18 December 2023 – for full details on how to apply visit www.jazznorth.org/northern-line-application-page