Teesside Talent And Our Digital Power To Feature At Global Tech And Arts Festival

Teesside performers are primed to visit one of the globe’s biggest music and arts festivals as part of a joint push to demonstrate the power of our region.

Folk singer songwriter Amelia Coburn and Nunthorpe singer Finn Forster will travel out to Austin, Texas, in March as part of a joint delegation with other cities and regions across the North of England.

And our growing strengths in gaming and digital industry will also feature prominently at the huge event in a bid to open another front in attracting more jobs, projects and investment.

Badged as “The Great North”, the collaboration with Liverpool City Region, Greater Manchester, North East Combined Authority (NECA) and West Yorkshire aims to show how the North is both an economic and creative powerhouse.

Founded in 1987 in Austin, Texas, South by Southwest is best known for its conference and festivals celebrating the convergence of tech, film and television, music, education, and culture – and is a magnet for global professionals.

The Combined Authority’s Sonic Futures programme is supporting Amelia and Finn’s attendance with support agency, Generator, while Alison Gwynn, Chief Executive of North East Screen, will cross the ocean to showcase the region’s film-making potential, facilities and prowess.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “To have Amelia – one of our brilliant Artists of the Year – and a talent in Finn flying the Teesside flag at a huge event like this is a proud moment.

“My job is to ultimately to create good, well-paid jobs for the people of Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool – but we are often stronger than the sum of our collective parts and can achieve a huge amount by working together.

“We’ve been backed with an £160m Investment Zone to supercharge our brilliant digital and film industries.

“And our wider region is attracting global players in filmmaking who see the beauty, facilities and sheer depth of talent we have on offer.

“We boast some of the best software and game-developers on the planet – and some of the world’s best locations.

“I hope this event helps the world sit up and take notice of just how much we can offer – and helps us on our path to creating a digital powerhouse the envy of the world.”

The Combined Authority has worked closely with the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) on attending the event – and is forging even closer ties with NECA on boosting our wider region’s cultural industries.

The event will feature a pop-up “mini-cini”, highlighting Northern filmmaking talent and showing why Hollywood giants like Netflix and Paramount are choosing Northern locations for their productions.

An “Innovation Arcade” will showcase the gaming sector with a chance to experience the latest in gaming from the North of England, as leading developers demonstrate cutting-edge technologies.

The soundtrack to the afternoon will feature a ‘Live Lounge’ atmosphere, where emerging artists will perform original works alongside reimagined covers of classic Northern tracks.

Alison Gwynn added: “We’re already seeing real impact from the growth in production in the past two years. The North East Production Fund has invested £2.5million in a number of scripted projects which is driving inward investment, increasing visibility of our region, and providing jobs for the world-class talented crew we have here in the North East.

“Going to SXSW with the northern collective is putting the North on the global map, and we’re saying, why not the North? We’ve got world class locations, world class crew and world class businesses who can deliver global content.”

SXSW 2025 begins 7 March.