The latest rising star from the North East’s explosive music scene, Finn Forster, sat down with LeftLion in the midst of his largest headline tour. We caught up about all things Stereophonics, his latest release, and the rollercoaster of tour emotions
LL: First things first, we've caught you at an insane time. How do you feel about BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend?
Finn: It’s an absolute milestone to be doing such a huge prestigious event... It’s perfect.
I imagine the support has been unprecedented too with it being in the North East!
The support has been overwhelming. I was able to have my upcoming single Strangers on BBC radio 1 airtime with Greg
James, Jack Saunders and Sian O’Leary.
And am I correct in thinking that you did The Grove [in Newcastle]?
Yes, it was packed and amazing! I have got York tonight and after just popping in I can see it’s already filling up.
That leads nicely into the fact that 2025 was an incredible year for you. I feel I know the answer, but what are the top three moments?
2025 was a massive year. 28 dates with Stereophonics, a little tour myself and went around Europe before doing South By Southwest [festival] in Texas. It’s all set things up perfectly for me this year being on my biggest headline tour to date which has almost sold out to then be going into festival season.
It truly is admirable; is it even possible to pick a top three?
I would have to go with the tour with Stereophonics and stepping out that first night in Brussels and realising it has become a reality. Then I would have to say my hometown show at the Middlesbrough Empire; all of us artists have a dream venue to play when we start out and that was mine and I was able to do that. Finally I would have to say Sheffield with Stereophonics. As a support act you anticipate a not so full room but that night it was packed so it felt like I was playing a sold-out show in Sheffield area which was immense.
How it was not only opening for JADE this year but being involved in the first BBC Proms outside of London?
Yeah that was class. It was the first time I met Greg James and Sian O’Leary. We were on about it yesterday as we have an ongoing joke in which I shared a dressing room with Greg James and he accidentally bundled my trousers into his bag and after months of wondering where they went he finally admitted to me yesterday on air that he has them and he’ll gift me some more once an album comes out. But yeah, to play the Glasshouse is another dream venue that was surreal but I am also very grateful to Jade for allowing me such an amazing opportunity and a milestone to mark the fantastic backing the BBC is giving me.
I know we have touched up on it, but talk to me about opening for Stereophonics and how that came to fruition.
It's quite a crazy one really. It started out as just creating some online content and I have been a fan of them since being introduced to them by my dad and have a vast experience of covering their stuff in pubs and clubs so when they announced their shows I started to upload covers as a sort of application to support them, I know it was a bit tongue in cheek but I thought it would be worth a shot and then miraculously somebody who then went onto becoming a close friends saw Kelly Jones in the street and went over and showed him one of my clips and he took his phone out, pictured my profile and went away and watched my stuff and then the rest is history.
I suppose that's how it works in this day and age with social media being such a powerful tool.
Yeah absolutely but you also need to be able to back it up and have those foundations so you can execute the skills
live.
What does your latest release Strangers mean to you?
This one is really special to me. I come from a folk background and have found a lot of comfort writing on my acoustic guitar and this one just came together really nicely and I’m so proud of it. I wrote it with a guy called Matt Walsh and ended up turning it into a piano ballad which makes it sound so much more powerful and to have it on the record coming out but also having the ability to play it acoustically live on tour is amazing, along with the reception it has had.
Is it tricky to play new and unreleased material to audiences in the hope they're received well?
Yeah it’s always daunting when you are waiting for a response but fans have taken to this really well and it has
also just received BBC Introducing North East track of the week, too.
The tour is finished as of 6 June. Do you have any big plans you can share for the rest of the year?
I’ll be gearing up for a very busy festival season and it’s one of my busiest yet. I have Boardmasters, TRNSMT, Isle of Wight, Golden Touch and YNOT which I am really looking forward to. I am also really excited to be heading back up to Scotland as Glasgow have really taken me under their wing after playing to a sold out King Tuts [recently].
Now go back to 6 June 2021 ... Looking at how far you’ve come, what advice would you give to other musicians when pursuing the same dreams?
That voice you have that tells you to keep going, especially in the times of need, listen to it. Because it's right.
Finn Forster performed at The Bodega on 4th June 2026. You can read our review of the gig here.
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