We're opening a music studio in Sunderland - with help from Sam Fender

Work is forging ahead to bring a new music studio to Sunderland city centre which will deliver free, inclusive sessions for young people - with help from Sam Fender.

On his recent People Watching tour, the North East artist raised £50,000 for charity through ticket donations, choosing to give £25,000 to Sunderland and South Shields-based AutismAble, which supports neurodivergent people across the region.

He chose to donate it to the team’s Future Collaborations project as his first recipient from a long list of North East organisations.

That amount was then matched by the charity Youth Music through its Rescue the Roots campaign, bringing the total award to £50,000, with a second recipient project to be announced by Youth Music in August.

AutismAble is a community interest company supporting people with autism, learning disabilities and additional needs through many ways, including its SeaChange cafes in Sunderland and South Shields which provide employment opportunities.

Its Future Collaborations programme delivers free, inclusive music sessions to neurodivergent and neurotypical young people together, led by experienced industry professionals and it will see a new music studio opening in Vine Place this summer.

Last year, AutismAble bought the former Aphrodite shop building, opening Wear pre-loved clothing shop and a SeaChange coffee shop on the ground floor, with the upper floors soon to be home to the Future Collaborations studio.

The project previously won the Outstanding Project Award at the Youth Music Awards and the additional funding means AutismAble’s Youth Music Catalyser grant will now extend to March 2029, securing the project’s long-term future.

Sam Fender said: “I’m proud to support Youth Music and their ‘Rescue the Roots’ campaign. Help for young people in The Arts is scarce - projects like these are so important.”

Ian Black, Senior Coordinator and Youth Music Lead at AutismAble, said: “Sam Fender’s support means a huge amount to us and to the young people in the North East who deserve these opportunities.

“With a little bit of support, we’ve seen young people find confidence, find their voice and take real steps forward in music.”

In addition to the funding, every Future Collaborations participant will have the opportunity to take part in a free recording session with Bramwell Bronte (Thom Lewis) — producer of Sam Fender’s platinum-selling albums Seventeen Going Under and Hypersonic Missiles.

Anyone wishing to sign up or find out more about Future Collaborations can contact [email protected].