Ruth Lyons: ISF (SXSW)

Ruth Lyon is a singer-songwriter and activist from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, North East England, who makes a unique brand of hard-hitting ‘alt-pop’, sweeping from self-questioning piano ballads and lush string arrangements, to hands-in-the-air bangers.

Lyon was Artist-in-Residence at Sage Gateshead in 2020, named as one of BBC Introducing’s Top Tips for 2021 and was invited to perform at Latitude Festival. Her debut EP ‘Nothing’s Perfect’ was released October 2021 and lead single Motormouth has attracted attention from BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 6 music and Spotify editorial playlists. She sets out on her first UK headline tour during the Spring of 2022.

As a wheelchair user, Ruth is also an activist for access in the music industry. She is an artist ambassador for Attitude Is Everything who improve deaf and disabled people’s access to live music and an ambassador for Featured Artist Coalition – a non profit trade body that advocates on behalf of artists, and lobbies governments domestically and abroad. Over the last year she has appeared on industry panels, parliamentary committees and international festivals, representing a voice of diversity and inclusion as the industry re-builds itself.

On the back of Ruth’s recent success, as an artist and activist, she has been invited to speak and perform at SXSW 2022. The funding from PRS will enable Ruth to travel to Austin and kick off the next chapter of her career.