New grassroots live music showcase Spotlight launches at Howard Assembly Room this November
A new 200-capacity live music showcase designed to champion emerging and unsigned artists is launching at Howard Assembly Room
A brand-new grassroots music event created to put emerging and unsigned independent artists centre stage is set to launch in Leeds city centre next month.
Spotlight Unsigned, created in partnership with grassroots music platform Play One We Know (POWK), will host its inaugural show at the Howard Assembly Room on November 19.
Taking over an intimate 200-capacity space, the event aims to create a regular platform for developing artists to perform in front of a live audience, connecting fresh talent with local music fans while helping to support the region’s grassroots music ecosystem.
Opening the launch night is Burgz, a musician and producer deeply rooted in the West Yorkshire hip-hop scene who blends classic hip-hop fundamentals with a distinctly Northern storytelling perspective.
Also on the bill are Midnite Pharmacy, a live electronic project formed by Leeds-based musicians Liam Jones and Si Martin.
The duo combine indie, house, and techno influences, performing as a two-piece live act while sequencing and playing multiple instruments on stage to bring the energy of electronic production into a live setting.
Further acts are set to be announced ahead of the event, which will conclude with an after-show DJ set.
The initiative is delivered alongside Play One We Know (POWK), an organisation dedicated to creating sustainable long-term opportunities for independent artists, venues, and music professionals across the region.
Organisers hope to establish Spotlight Unsigned as a recurring event for new music discovery in Leeds.
Catch the inaugural Spotlight Unsigned showcase at the Howard Assembly Room on November 19, with tickets and further information available now via the Opera North website.