Reading and Leeds drop BBC Introducing for nepo-baby stage
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- Reading and Leeds scrapped its BBC Introducing stage after nearly 20 years, replacing it with the Canopy stage billed as a "home for new and breaking acts" — a move Festival Republic says opens the platform to a "much wider pool of emerging talent."
- Fans flagged that Canopy bookings include Violet Grohl (daughter of Dave Grohl), Cruz Beckham (son of Victoria and David), Villanelle frontman Gene Gallagher (son of Liam), and December 10 — a boyband already signed after forming on Simon Cowell's Netflix series The Next Act — prompting some to nickname it "the nepo baby stage."
- Festival Republic did not respond to detailed Guardian questions about why it cut the BBC, which was already planning its 2026 lineup; the fallout even drew coverage in Private Eye.
- BBC Introducing founder Jason Carter said he was "disappointed" but could "see both sides," noting the industry has changed with more ways to access new music.
- The loss is compounded by Glastonbury's fallow year, which also eliminates its BBC Introducing stage, leaving BBC Radio 1's Jess Iszatt to say "there's less opportunity" and call it "the end of an era" for unsigned artists.
- BBC Introducing is far from finished — it has announced a month of live events across 10 UK cities in November and recently expanded into the US.
- Big Moon's Juliette Jackson, whose band played the stage in 2015, called the loss "huge" for new bands "with no money," while ex-BBC Introducing presenter Tom Robinson said "the beauty of BBC Introducing was that you needed no inside access."
Why it matters: With Glastonbury on a fallow year too, the loss of the Reading and Leeds BBC Introducing stage closes the sole grassroots pipeline connecting unsigned artists to a major UK festival — a gap that bands like the Big Moon once relied on for early exposure before going on to Mercury nominations.
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