This November, here at Aesthetica, we broke new ground with the launch of our inaugural New Music Stage. It is a platform designed to showcase the UK’s most exciting breakthrough musical talent whilst situating live performance within the festival’s creative ecosystem. Set against the historic backdrop of York, home to Aesthetica, the stage was more than a venue – it was a site of collaboration and discovery, a place where music, film, XR, and storytelling converged in new ways.
The festival has always celebrated creativity across disciplines, but the New Music Stage represents a bold extension of that vision. Designed as a space where artists can be both seen and heard within a wider cultural conversation, it invites audiences to experience live music as part of a broader narrative about how we imagine, innovate and engage. The inaugural edition featured 10 hand-picked artists, each selected for their originality and contribution to the UK’s vibrant music scene.
At the heart of the lineup was Dilettante, whose performance held the room with emotive vocals, multi-instrumentation and intricate textures. Formerly a member of BC Camplight and acclaimed for appearances at SXSW and The Great Escape, she found something singular in this environment: a platform that positioned her sound within a wider creative dialogue. “The New Music Stage reminded me why live music matters,” she reflected. “It’s about sharing something unexpected in real time and connecting with people in the room.” Her set encapsulated the essence of live discovery – music unfolding moment by moment, amplified by an audience encountering it.
The remaining artists further expanded this sense of discovery. BLÁNID, the Irish singer-songwriter whose work has surpassed a million Spotify streams, brought an ethereal, contemplative presence. Crazy James, praised by BBC Introducing, delivered high-energy rap with precision and charisma. Daisy Gill, a The Voice UK alum with performances at Glastonbury and the Royal Albert Hall, offered pop infused with soulful grit. Ewan Sim, a Spotify Fresh Finds artist, introduced shimmering indie textures, while Isabel Maria, BBC Introducing One-to-Watch and North East Culture Award winner, balanced lyrical nuance with stagecraft.
Jemma Johnson, supported by BBC Radio 1 and Radio X, brought confident alt-pop; Kengo, championed by BBC Introducing, showcased rhythmic agility in hip-hop; Messy Eater blurred the boundaries between performance and art-rock; and Tarian, celebrated by BBC Radio Wales, closed with an intensity that lingered long after the final note. The lineup embodied the depth of the UK’s emerging artists.
What truly distinguishes the New Music Stage is its place within Aesthetica’s multidisciplinary landscape. Delegates, filmmakers, XR creators, podcasters and festival-goers from over 60 countries shared the space, creating a fertile ground where ideas flowed naturally across mediums. As Pablo Ettinger, founder of Caffè Nero, noted: “Supporting emerging talent at this level is vital. These stages give artists the chance to reach audiences and figures they might not meet otherwise.” Here, the stage becomes more than a showcase – it becomes a gateway to mentorship, collaboration and international visibility.
This initiative also arrives at a pivotal moment. Across the UK, grassroots music venues are under severe pressure and the decline is quantifiable: in 2023 alone, around 125 grassroots music venues permanently closed, equating to an average loss of two venues per week. Moreover, of the remaining venues surveyed, 38% reported operating at a loss. The New Music Stage responds directly to this trajectory, offering musicians the immediacy of live performance while embedding their work within a broader creative ecosystem. At Aesthetica, music is not presented in isolation: it exists in conversation with film, XR and performance, generating cross-disciplinary encounters that are increasingly rare.
Cherie Federico, founder of Aesthetica, articulates this ethos clearly: “We’re building a festival where creativity meets opportunity. It’s not just about performances – it’s about creating connections, inviting collaboration and nurturing the next generation of artists across multiple disciplines.” The New Music Stage demonstrates how artists can thrive when placed within a dynamic cultural context, and how new talent can access pathways that extend far beyond a single performance.
Dilettante’s win underscores the platform’s potential. The stage acts as a launchpad into a global creative network, where the intersections between music, film, technology and storytelling can meaningfully shape an artist’s trajectory. For audiences, it offers the rare thrill of witnessing talent at the moment of emergence – immediate, raw and full of possibility. The energy of the performances creates an atmosphere that feels both intimate and internationally resonant.
The New Music Stage also makes a wider cultural statement about the importance of live music today. In an era increasingly defined by algorithms and discovery, the urgency of hearing music in real time—and experiencing it with others—remains irreplaceable. Positioned within the Aesthetica Film Festival, the stage gives music a dimension it seldom occupies: part of a space where sound, image and story collide.
As the festival continues to evolve, the New Music Stage is set to become one of its defining pillars. It is a place where artists and audiences meet at the intersection of music and moving image, where the next generation of talent is given visibility, and where new ideas can take root. At a time when live discovery is becoming scarce, it stands as a testament to the enduring power of performance.
At Aesthetica, we are proud to champion this platform, to support emerging voices and to cultivate a space where music, film and storytelling come together in ways that are inspiring, unexpected and transformative. Here, the next wave of creative innovation is being heard, seen and celebrated.
Words: Shirley Stevenson
The festival continues online until 30 November 2025, providing global access to our extensive film programme: asff.co.uk.
