Sam Fender has used his People Watching tour to raise £50,000 for Youth Music.
The 31-year-old Geordie singer was supported by the Generator programme, which was funded by the North East-based charity, early in his career and he’s been able to give back to help grassroots music across the UK.
He’s making the £50k donation from ticket sales for his tour, and the charity’s new Rescue The Roots campaign is matching it to make a £100,000 total donation to directly help Youth Music projects in the North East.
The new £2 million initiative is aimed at tackling the funding crisis which is threatening grassroots youth music projects all over the country.
In a statement, the Seventeen Going Under star 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.”
Meanwhile, Youth Music’s interim co-CEO Carol Reid noted it’s “encouraging” that “successful artists” are doing their bit to support grassroots music.
She added: “We’re incredibly grateful to Sam for choosing to support Youth Music and young people in the North East.
“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.
“It’s really encouraging to see more and more successful artists giving back to grassroots music, which is often where they learn their craft.”
The charity has found that only half of young people in the north of England class themselves as a musician, which rises to 62 percent in the south.
It’s not the first time the Rein Me In singer – whose collaboration with Olivia Dean earned him his first UK number one earlier this year – has done his bit to support grassroots music.
He previously put in place a £1 ticket levy for his tour, and in September 2025 it was revealed the money raised helped support 28 grassroots venues across the UK.
