Five Years of Step Up Fund: FAC & Amazon Music Back Five Artists & Announce Barfly Showcase
Five emerging UK artists get three days at The Breakthrough Lab, while Step Up's fifth anniversary brings a special live showcase to London's Barfly.
Five years in, the Step Up Fund initiative continues to put something tangible behind emerging independent talent: time, space and resources to make music.
For the second consecutive year, the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) and Amazon Music are expanding the Step Up Fund by giving five additional UK independent artists - Defences, Lemonade Shoelace, Pencil, Saïna and Sol Paradise - three days of free studio time at The Breakthrough Lab, the professional recording space created through Amazon Music and Metropolis Studios. Amazon Music and Metropolis Studios also support engineering costs.
The five artists join the ten artists who received Step Up Fund grants in July 2026, with this year's wider programme continuing to invest in the creative development of independent artists across the UK. Since its launch in 2022, Step Up Fund has now supported more than 50 artists, providing grants and resources aimed at helping them take the next step in their careers.
The fifth anniversary will also get a proper live celebration. On Wednesday, September 16, 2026, the FAC and Amazon Music will bring The Artist's Voice - Live Sessions from the FAC to London's legendary Barfly, with performances from MOBO-winning duo ALT BLK ERA, Ashaine White, Defences and Lemonade Shoelace. The free-entry event is presented in partnership with Signature Brew and Orange Amplification.
Registration is required, and entry is subject to venue capacity.
For an initiative built around removing barriers, it feels fitting that its fifth birthday comes with both sides of the equation on display: a place to make the music, and a stage to share it.
The Artist's Voice Live Sessions from the FAC
📍 Barfly, London
📅 Wednesday, September 16, 2026
🕖 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM
🎟️ Free entry - registration required; entry is subject to capacity.
Register for the event via the Featured Artists Coalition
About Chris Roditis
Chris Roditis has been an active musician since 1995 in various bands and projects across a variety of genres ranging from acoustic, electronic to nu metal, british rock and trip hop. He has extensive experience as a mixing engineer and producer and has built recording studios for most of the projects he has been involved with. His passion for music steered his entrepreneurial skills into founding MusicNGear in 2012.
Contact Chris Roditis at chrisroditis@musicngear.com
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