Young performers invited to apply for grants of up to £2,000
A trust that provides grants to musicians, dancers, singers and performers whose work is rooted in folk and traditional music and arts of any culture has opened its 2026 round of funding.
The Alan Surtees Trust is inviting applications from anyone aged 16 to 30, who shows exceptional skill, talent and promise in their field and is influenced by folk or traditional music and arts from any culture, to apply for one of four grants of up to £2,000.
The trust was set up in memory of Alan, the co-founder and director of Shrewsbury Folk Festival, who died in 2017. Alan was renowned for his support of emerging musicians, giving them a platform through his programming.
The festival makes an annual donation to the trust and since its inception, 28 individual grants have been made funding everything from album recording to video production, expert tuition, a folk music school project and the purchase of new instruments and equipment.
The Trust chair Dave Cowing said he standard of applications was always incredibly high. “There is some very creative talent out there and our grants enable young musicians who don’t have the financial resources available to create new music, develop their own projects or enhance their own skills, all of which plays a part in spreading folk to a new or different audience.
“Our grants aren’t just limited to British folk music though and we’re very keen to hear from musicians, singers, dancers, artists or other performers from diverse backgrounds so we can support every kind of traditional culture. We are delighted to be playing a small role in supporting the continued preservation and sharing of folk culture and look forward to another year of making some exciting ideas become reality.”
Qualifying Criteria
Grants are invited from musicians, singers, dancers, artists or performers in the folk arts from any culture. Applicants can be solo artists, bands or groups.
Applicants should be aged between 16 and 30 at the time of application. They must live in the UK and not already have significant financial backing.
Four awards of up to £2,000 per person will be given for mentoring and tuition from experts in the genre, hiring of rehearsal and creative space, costs towards new instruments and equipment, recording and production of a debut album, production of promotional materials and marketing support or project research and development expenses such as artist fees or travel expenses.
The closing date for applications is April 30. For more information and to apply, go to alansurteestrust.org.uk. The application form includes the option to submit a personalised video from applicants, and this is encouraged by trustees.
Only successful candidates will be contacted and the award recipients will be announced in June. Follow the trust on Twitter @ASurteesTrust or on Facebook @AlanSurteesTrust
