10 UK music creators receive support to attend Eurosonic Noorderslag 2026 through PRS Foundation’s International Showcase Fund

14 January 2026 - Press release

 

• Supported artists across the UK include EV, Mount Palomar, Plantoid and SOAPBOX
• 2026 marks the 20^th year of International Showcase Fund enabling UK artists to break into new overseas territories

 

PRS Foundation, the UK’s leading charitable funder of new music and talent development, announces today the 10 UK artists receiving support through the International Showcase Fund to attend Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) 2026.

 

The artists receiving support to showcase are:

• EV (England) – showcasing: Thu/Fri night 16^th Jan at Grand Theatre - 00:50-01:30
• Hetta Falzon (England) – showcasing: Thu 15^th Jan at Nieuwe Kerk - 20:50-21:30
• Mount Palomar (Northern Ireland) – showcasing: Fri/Sat night 17^th Jan at Simplon ^Main - 00:50-01:30
• Mustbejohn (England) – showcasing: Fri 16^th Jan at MXT ^Main - 20:40-21:20
• Nightbus (England) – showcasing: Fri 16^th Jan at VERA - 22:50-23:30
• Plantoid (England) - showcasing: Fri 16^th Jan at A-Theater - 23:00-23:40 and Fri 16^th Jan at Camera - 17:30-19:30 (Bella Union Extra)
• Slate (Wales) – showcasing: Fri/Sat night 17^th Jan at A-Theater - 00:20-01:00 and Fri 16^th Jan at Fixy - 17:30-19:30 (FOCUS Wales Mixer & Showcase)
• SOAPBOX (Scotland) – showcasing: Wed/Thu night 15^th Jan at Oosterpoort ^Binnenzaal - 01:00-01:40
• The New Eves (England) – showcasing: Thu 15^th Jan at H.N. Werkman Stadslyceum - 20:50-21:30
• Wesley Joseph (England) – showcasing: Thu 15^th Jan at Machinefabriek - 20:10-20:50

 

The artists selected for International Showcase Fund support to attend ESNS 2026 highlight the exciting talent breaking through from across the UK, such as EV who has had tracks played on BBC Radio 1, Mount Palomar being selected for Track of the Day in Hot Press, Slate picking up rave reviews fromNME and Clash Magazine and SOAPBOX receiving a 9/10 review for their EP on God Is In The TV Zine.

All International Showcase Fund artists will additionally be listed on UK Sounds, the collaborative initiative led by PRS Foundation in partnership with several music export organisations and partners in the UK. UK Sounds acts as an online hub offering a national umbrella brand to highlight various stakeholders and strengthen UK music’s visibility and presence at overseas festivals and conferences. Find out more aboutUK Sounds and the UK artists and UK showcase presenters at this year’s ESNS:https://uksounds.prsfoundation.com

Becci Scotcher, Senior Grants & Programmes Manager at PRS Foundation said, “We’re delighted to be supporting 10 music creators from across the nations of the UK to showcase at this year’s ESNS. Europe remains a hugely important overseas territory for artists from the UK to access, and ESNS provides not only an opportunity to showcase to the industry, but the European Talent Exchange programme boosts the chances of more worldwide festival bookings. At PRS Foundation we’re proud to represent the UK as members of both the European Talent Exchange and the European Music Export Exchange which combined with the vital support of all the partners on the International Showcase Fund enables music creators to access and develop their careers in Europe and beyond.”

2026 marks the 20^th year since the launch of the International Showcase Fund back in 2006 (then called British Music Abroad). The International Showcase Fund is run by PRS Foundation in partnership with Department for Business and Trade, Arts Council England, British Underground, Musicians' Union, Creative Scotland, PPL, Arts’ Council of Wales international agency Wales Arts International, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and British Council. It offers vital and timely support for artists to take their first steps into international territories by enabling them to perform at key showcasing festivals and conferences such as SXSW, Reeperbahn Festival, Zandari Festa, Womex, Africa Rising, ESNS, Jazzahead! and MUTEK which attract thousands of people working in the music industry from every corner of the globe.

The 2019-2024 International Showcase Fund impact report showed that the fund helped generate £6.7 million for the UK music industry and UK economy and for every £1 of the UK Government’s contribution to the fund, music creators generated £26.90 in total revenues.