Lence: Early Career Promoter Fund
Concise Description: My next Blur the Lines show will be an innovative showcase of improvised live music and inspiring performances from Leeds based poets, rappers and singers.
Bio: Lence is a Rap and Spoken Word artist from Leeds and the founder of Blur the Lines: an event that focuses on blurring the lines between different art forms and celebrating grassroots creativity in the North by helping artists perform in venues they haven’t accessed before. Each show features 16-20 poets, rappers, comedians and musicians based in Yorkshire. They’ve produced 2 sold out events at Leeds Playhouse, 5 for Leeds Lit Fest working with Hyde Park Book Club, 3 with Slunglow, 1 at Leeds Library, 1 in association with Come Play With Me and 1 at Howard Assembly Room for the opening night of Leeds Jazz Festival 2025.
Lence’s experience as an artist inspired him to create a space that connects separate scenes, develops new ideas, and ultimately blur the lines of what’s possible. As well as promoting Blur the Lines, Lence runs regular creative writing workshops with organisations such as the National Literacy Trust, releases music, features on radio and performs live, supporting acts such as Getdown Services, Joshua Idehen, D Double E, Curtisy and more. As a result of his work with Blur the Lines, Lence was invited to deliver a talk at the Poetry off the Page – All Borders Blur Conference in London, for a special event focused on mapping genre crossings in UK Spoken Word.
PRS Foundation are supporting Lence with his next show: Blur the Lines at City Varieties for Leeds Jazz Festival 2026 on Friday May 22nd. This next event represents a significant milestone in the development of the platform with it taking place in such a prestigious and historic setting. The support will enable Lence to maximize this opportunity as he plans this celebration and curates line up that reflects a blurring of the lines between Poetry, Hip Hop and Jazz.
Lence Socials:
Blur the Lines Socials: