Dropped From Reading & Leeds, BBC Introducing Fires Back With a Ten-City Tour

A month ago, BBC Introducing confirmed it had lost the stage it had held at Reading & Leeds Festival for 18 years. A month later, it's announcing a month-long run of events across ten UK cities. The contrast is itself the story: the stage is gone, but the footprint just got bigger.

BBC Introducing has announced that "Introducing LIVE" will take place in November across ten locations — Belfast, Bridgend, Gateshead, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Nottingham and Sunderland — featuring performances, workshops, education talks, open mics and networking events. The run kicks off on November 5 with dates in Bridgend and London, and wraps up on November 28 with four showcases in a single day in Leeds. BBC Introducing editor Kelly Betts said: "Supporting and nurturing artists and creators is at the heart of everything BBC Introducing does, so I'm thrilled that Introducing LIVE is returning in November — this is set to be our biggest year yet."

The timing says it all. Earlier this year it was confirmed that the BBC Introducing stage would disappear from Reading & Leeds — a stage that, since launching in 2008, played a key role in the early careers of Ed Sheeran and The 1975, and which the BBC says accounted for roughly 70% of the UK acts across the two festivals' 2026 lineups. A Festival Republic spokesperson told NME that the slot would be taken over by the Canopy stage instead, drawing from a wider talent pool, with the stated aim of "supporting a more diverse range of emerging artists" it hopes will one day headline the festivals. The BBC has confirmed Introducing will continue partnering with other festivals, including Latitude and The Great Escape.

In other words, an 18-year fixed slot at one festival has been swapped for a month-long tour across ten cities. It's not an equal trade, but it is a clear pivot: away from leaning on a single festival, and toward building an entire live network of its own. Full event details and tickets are available on the BBC Introducing website.

Uploader, 23 local shows, and a reach that's already crossed into the US

BBC Introducing currently gathers submissions from unsigned musicians through its Uploader platform, playing tracks across 23 local radio shows as well as six national shows — Radio 1, Radio 2, 6 Music, Asian Network and Radio 3. The scheme has previously helped launch the careers of Ed Sheeran, RAYE, Olivia Dean, Sam Fender and Loyle Carner. It's also gone international, partnering with a college radio show in Tennessee, and the BBC says it hopes to expand into more US states going forward.

But the network hasn't had a smooth ride. Back in 2023, the number of local BBC Introducing shows was cut from 32 to 20, drawing public criticism at the time from artists including Sigrid and Elton John. Seen against that backdrop, this November's ten-city run looks less like an expansion and more like a scale-driven response — answering concerns about shrinking resources with sheer number of dates.