nEWS PAGE
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We are very pleased to launch the OND fund for Queer songwriters from disadvantaged backgrounds and with this mention our True Pride Festival which will occur on the 1st August 2026 in Salford, UK, (which the winning applicants must be able to play).
The no strings attached fund for 2 UK musicians each year will be for £2,000 per musician. It is for songwriters without a label or publisher to use for in the creation of an EP, single package, or to help fund a UK mini tour, or single/EP launch event for the aforementioned. The deadline for submissions is the 15th May 2026. The two winners will be announced by the 22nd May.
It has always been an aspiration of mine to help musicians like myself who struggled as queer musicians in the music industry and especially those like myself from a working-class background. It’s getting easier for queer musicians these days but there is still little support for musicians working in the field of popular music.
Myself, and fellow queer music industry professionals Liam Walsh and Paul Bonham will make the final selection this and every year.
Jamie Irrepressible
Songwriter, Composer of The Irrepressibles & Artistic Director of Of Naked Design
Of Naked Design meaning “the potential for something creative to happen" has been the creative home for my creative guise The Irrepressibles for some time and this year we expand its horizons
Guidance for applicants
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_TgTqCnwAVRuqrgivb_bL7Q6ne3L_9mE/view?usp=sharing
Application Form
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdRpJ--Op7u6VvSmRel-2bNjJ9oDPK4zFNu9jqqGTkGdEoEjw/viewform
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Our Mission Statement
Far too often Pride organisers present straight artists they feel appeal to the tastes of gay people rather than presenting LGBTQI voices to speak and create for ourselves. Far too often certain voices from our community feel unheard and under-represented. True Pride is about just that - a platform for the creative voices of the whole LGBTQI. It is what we feel PRIDE should be about and therefore the name True Pride.
True Pride is born out of anger. The anger of feeling unseen and unheard by the very platform where we should be centre stage. Moved aside by an idea of what those in high places feel we should like and listen to - rather than platforming those who speak for us, our experiences of life, our art, our music. True Pride is about saying enough is enough - it is time for Pride to be reclaimed.
It is our aim to create a safe, empowering, and truly diverse and representative space where we can finally see ourselves.