Sound City has selected four fantastic artists from Leeds Conservatoire to perform at this year’s festival; the tenth year in a row as part of an ongoing partnership. To mark this milestone, as well as the conservatoire’s own 60th anniversary, sessions have also been added to the Sound City+ Conference schedule.
On Friday 1 May, staff member Keith Ayling (Professor of Songwriting) and Mica Sefia (2022 Popular Music graduate; now a Project Lead for Black Lives in Music, backing vocalist for Corinne Bailey Rae, and recording artist in her own right) will appear in several sessions at the conference discussing the value of the conservatoire experience, both from a Leeds perspective and in collaboration with representatives from The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA).
Fiercely independent and with an unmistakably northern attitude, Sound City consistently programmes the most exciting and innovative acts. The four Leeds Conservatoire artists selected for this year’s festival as part of the partnership, and highlighted below, are MYER, Roscoe, Grace Georgia and Grace Price. All four will perform on Saturday 2 May.
MYER
Courses studied (MYER and bandmates): BA (Hons) Music (Songwriting) and BA (Hons) Music (Jazz)
Discover MYER on Instagram
MYER is a 20-year-old multi genre artist from East London currently residing in Leeds. Moulding her eclectic sound from inspirations that range from Amy Winehouse to Nine Inch Nails and Sneaker Pimps, she uses music and poetry to express complicated inner dilemmas.
Her dark lyricism pours out not only in the soundscapes that she incorporates when producing her own instrumentations, but also by creating a captivating and emotionally intense performance at all times.
MYER draws imagery from forms of fashion, drawings, paintings and scenery to enhance her creative sides and create a new feel in every visual and sound that she is working towards and warps this in now as she works on her debut released project, which is something to look out for in the near future.
Roscoe
Courses studied: BA (Hons) Music (Popular) and BA (Hons) Music (Production)
Discover Roscoe on multiple platforms via their Linktree
Roscoe are a modern Alt-Rock band from North Wales. Formed in 2023, Roscoe wrote their first EP ‘What Do We Do It For?’ which released in early 2025. They went on to record ‘Legacy (Acoustic)’ which replaces the indie-driven sounds of the EP with an intense intimacy. Now based and studying in Leeds, Roscoe are relentlessly exploring the obscurity of youth culture, working to discover something new and entirely their own.
Grace Georgia
Courses studied (Grace Georgia and bandmates): BA (Hons) Music (Songwriting) and BA (Hons) Music (Popular) with Production
Discover Grace Georgia on Instagram
Grace Georgia is a London and Leeds-based indie folk/rock artist, who blends the intimate storytelling of indie-folk with ethereal shoegaze inspired instrumentals. Drawing inspiration from artists such as Mazzy Star and Adrianne Lenker, her songwriting explores the everlasting complexity of making sense of both surroundings and self, writing with a candidness that listeners often connect to for how little she holds back.
Grace Price
Courses studied (Grace Price and bandmates): BA (Hons) Music (Production), BA (Hons) Music (Jazz) and BA (Hons) Music (Songwriting)
Discover Grace Price on multiple platforms via her Linktree
Grace Price is a Leeds based indie singer-songwriter from West Cumbria. A fresh voice on the indie-folk scene, Grace uses diverse acoustic sources to create lyrically intricate songs centred around groove, her debut EP ‘Harbour’ gaining airplay on BBC Radio 1 and 6 Music. Her organic sound thrives live, seen at festivals such as Kendal Calling and multiple headline shows.
Inspired by the poetry and literature close to her, and looking to artists such as Tori Amos and Madison Cunningham, Grace has been described as reminiscent of a young Laura Marling.
