Local musicians invited to Turn It Up 2025!
Turner Sims is launching the second edition of Turn It Up, a development opportunity for local musicians. Turn up the volume on your project and prepare to perform at our summer festival.
Do you have a project idea you want to develop and present to new audiences live? Are you ready to develop your craft and boost your professional career? We will help you develop your project and provide a national platform for you to perform it.
About Us
Turner Sims has big ambitions to build an inclusive world through the joy of live music. We’re developing from a respected concert hall into a dynamic and creative music hub. Nurturing new talent and connecting with diverse communities are central to our plans.
Turn It Up artists will join a wide range of musicians as part of our year-round programme of exceptional live music. In 2024 indie-folk duo Pegasuses were selected as the first Turn It Up artists and premiered their new music live at the Turner Sims Summer Festival.
The Opportunity
We will select one Turn It Up artist from this open call. The successful artist will receive a Research and Development (R&D) and Production budget of up to £3,000 to create and deliver a project across five months. The R&D phase (March to June 2025) will culminate in a live performance at Turner Sims’ Summer Festival on Friday 27 June 2025.
The selected artist will receive a tailored package to support their development and performance. This includes:
- rehearsal space at Turner Sims
- recording support
- performance opportunities
- marketing and PR
- industry mentoring with access to knowledge and networks
Who is it for?
We are looking to support individual artists/musicians who:
- live or work in Southampton or an SO postcode
- have 5-10 years of professional experience
- work in jazz, sound, folk, global, classical and/or electronic music or any point in-between
- have an ambitious project they want to develop and present live and on a national platform
- are passionate about engaging diverse audiences through music
- want to hone their craft and build their professional career
- want support in navigating the music industry
We are keen to receive applications from artists with a wide range of lived experiences to create events that are exciting and relevant for diverse audiences from different communities in Southampton. This includes individuals from the Global Majority and/or LGBTQIA+ communities, or those who are disabled, D/deaf, neurodiverse, experience mental illness or are care experienced.
Access support
We are committed to removing barriers that would prevent people from participating in this opportunity. For individuals who require access support, we will work with you to understand your needs and agree a package of support to enable you to fully benefit from the opportunity.
What will we support?
We are looking for projects that:
- demonstrate ambition and high quality
- develop your practice
- seek to engage diverse audiences in the joy of live music
How will Turn It Up 2025 work?
The selected artist will begin with a one-to-one consultation with us to clarify your project idea and R&D needs.
Together we will plan how best to spend the £3,000 budget. The funds will need to cover each artist’s own time and any costs to create their idea and proposal e.g. rehearsal and performance time, hiring equipment, accessing other expertise to test a work in progress, or go on site visits. As the final performance will take place within an established event set up we anticipate that some ‘on the day’ production costs may be covered.
The consultation will also help you identify further support needs and decide what pathway will be most beneficial for you. This may include support with collaboration, industry advice, technical support, or rehearsal/studio time – most likely, a combination of all of these.
The Outcome
During the R&D period, you will have prepared a new show ready to be showcased live at the Turner Sims Summer Festival on Friday 27 June 2025. You will be supported to promote the event and develop content for marketing before and after. This will support you to explore further opportunities for performance, touring, producing etc.
Join an online briefing session – 21 January
We will be holding two online information sessions on Tuesday 21 January 2025 to introduce the scheme and answer any questions you may have. The sessions will take place on the following date and times:
- Tuesday 21 January 10-10.30am
- Tuesday 21 January 7-7.30pm
Email us to book a space for one of the sessions with ‘Online briefing session’ in the subject header stating which session you wish to attend. The content for both sessions will be the same so there is no need to attend both. It is not a requirement to attend one of the sessions in order to apply.
How to apply
Complete the online form or submit a video/audio application by email to info@turnersims.co.uk
Please download the application guidance below for a full list of questions.
Deadline to apply: Sunday 2 February 2025
Interviews with shortlisted artists: week commencing Monday 17 February 2025
We will contact all applicants with the award decision by Monday 10 March 2025
Proposals will be considered against the following criteria:
- Artist eligibility (e.g. SO postcode and 5-10 years of professional experience)
- Artistic vision and musical quality
- Track record of artist for creating and delivering original material
- Diversity of artists
- Diversity of music and creative styles
- Diversity of intended audiences for the project
If you have any questions about this opportunity, access support or need this brief or further information in a different format, please email info@turnersims.co.uk
Download application guidance
Download application guidance
Through Turn It Up we were able to play an incredible venue we’d dreamt of playing at for some time and also made it across the finish line with Sea of Joy, our debut album.
Pegasuses Turned It Up 2024
