Emerge Festival 2026

Following the first EMERGE Festival at Hoglands Park in 2024, the youth-led festival returned on Saturday 7 March 2026, this time taking over Planet Sounds for an indoor, multi-stage celebration of Southampton’s emerging music talent.

EMERGE 2026 brought together 300 people and 28 performers across three live music stages, with bands, singer-songwriters, rappers and DJs performing throughout the day. 85% of performers were under 25, providing a major platform for young artists to perform, develop their experience and connect with new audiences.

Young people were at the heart of the festival, involved in planning, stage curation, marketing and promotion, performance and event delivery. The new indoor format was developed following reflection with young people after the first EMERGE, creating a busy festival environment alongside food, stalls, workshops and other activities.

The second festival also demonstrated the progression created through EMERGE. Young people who had volunteered at the 2024 festival returned in paid roles, while artists progressed from smaller stages to main-stage performances. Members of Kitty Commodity, who had helped plan and deliver the first festival, returned in 2026 as performers with their newly formed band.

EMERGE was produced and delivered by SoCo Music Project, working with young people and partners including Gig Night, with funding and wider project support from Southampton Forward.