Giving back: Sam Fender raises £50,000 for grassroots music charity
Sam Fender has raised a staggering £50,000 for the grassroots music charity Youth Music through ticket sales for his recent People Watching tour.
The Generator programme, which was funded by the national charity Youth Music, enabled Fender to tour early in his career. Now, Fender has given his backing.
The £50,000 donation will be matched by Youth Music’s new Rescue The Roots campaign, which tackles the funding crisis threatening youth music projects across the country.
Therefore, through Fender and the charity’s match in donations, a whopping £100,000 will go directly to projects in the North East funded by Youth Music.
In celebration of the huge achievement, Fender shared, “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.”
Carol Reid, interim co-CEO at Youth Music, showed gratitude towards the 31-year-old in a statement, sharing, “We’re incredibly grateful to Sam for choosing to support Youth Music and young people in the North East.”
Reid went on, “Music can change young people’s lives, but too many still face barriers to accessing it, just because of where they live. This crucial funding will help ensure opportunity isn’t dictated by postcode.”
This isn’t the first charitable move Fender has made; he previously adopted a £1 ticket levy on his tour to support independent venues, which in turn went on to aid 38 different locations across the UK.
Earlier this year, Fender and Olivia Dean took home the prize for ‘Song of the Year’ at the Brit Awards for their collaborative hit ‘Rain Me In’.
Fender also received the 2025 Mercury Prize for his album, People Watching. The star went on to donate his entire winning fee to Music Venue Trust, who were overjoyed to put the £25,000 to good use.
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