Newcastle University Students Raise Money for Young Sounds UK Through Inspiring Open Mic Night

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In March 2025, a small group of second year Newcastle University music students hosted an open mic night to raise money for Young Sounds UK!

The idea 

When students Abigail Davison, Ciara Collins, Emma Ashwell, Kate Short and Lucy Wilcox were tasked to organise and run a music related event in Newcastle through their module ‘Professional Practice for Music’, they endeavoured to create an inspiring evening for local musicians. From this concept sprouted The Spotlight on the North, an open mic night to showcase emerging musicians in a supportive and relaxed environment.

The planning 

Before the event, the students behind The Spotlight on the North reached out to Young Sounds UK about fundraising for us through the event ticket sales. The event donations were submitted through our 2025 Arts for Impact campaign, which meant the total raised amount was doubled, allowing us to assist even more young musicians through the work we do.  

About their decision to fundraise for us, the students said: 

“We chose to support Young Sounds UK because we felt it matched our values. All of us being music students, it’s something we’re really passionate about. It was really rewarding knowing that we were not only helping young performers get out there, we were also helping young families that were struggling as well.”

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The event 

When the open mic night rolled around, the venue capacity of The Punch Bowl was filled with performers and an attentive audience. The night was soundtracked by two hours of original music and covers, from singer-songwriters and guitarists to string players, flautists and even a banjo! An amazing night was had by all, and £113 was raised by ticket donations. They then doubled this by donating through our Arts for Impact campaign!

The results

After the open mic night, the students wrote a report and delivered a presentation about the event to a small audience, and we were very pleased to hear they received a high 2:1 on the module! One of the event organisers, Abigail, shared that the open mic event was an excellent experience that positively impacted all those involved, and widened the team’s musical and entrepreneurial knowledge.

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We’d like to say a huge thank you to Abigail, Ciara, Emma, Kate and Lucy for fundraising for us through this lovely event, and to all the musicians who took part. 

Are you interested in making an impact to a young musician’s life? There are endless ways you can fundraise for us and have fun while doing it too! Check out our Fundraising page to learn more.