Omar Apollo is joining the Foundry…
YouTube Music‘s first-ever #FoundryFest will feature 20 performances, premieres, videos and discussions with YouTube Foundry artists, including the 23-year-old Mexican American bilingual singer-songwriter.
The “So Good”singer will be joined by Dua Lipa, Beabadoobee and Rina Sawayama as part of the festival, which launches at 9:00 am ET on Friday, October 23.
Fans will be able to scroll through the offerings in the on-demand video series by searching #Foundryfest on YouTube, with new treats popping up throughout the day on the artist’s official You Tube channels.
“YouTube Music Foundry was a great resource to me early in my career, and I’m happy to be an alum of a program that helps support emerging artists from all over the world,” said 2015 Foundry alumni Lipa in a statement.
Other past and current Foundry artists from the service’s artist development program slated to participate in the event include: Arlo Parks, Joesef, Rauw Alejandro. Gabriel Garzon-Montano, Natanael Cano, Guapdad 4000, Lost Stories, Tessa Violet, Baby Rose, Michael Brun, Eladio Carrion, Novelbright, Lime Cordiale, Rei Ami, Adam Melchor, TESSÆ and Isabella Lovestory.
As with last week’s #SOSFEST, which collected funds for the National Independent Venue Association, #FoundryFest will raise money to support the nearly 3,000 U.S. venues, festivals and promoters who’ve been severely impacted by the COVID-19 shutdown.
“YouTube created Foundry in 2015, to celebrate developing artists from around the world and help them build a global fanbase, which holds true today. Artists are always ingenious, creative problem solvers, but I’m especially impressed by how they’ve navigated change this year,” said Naomi Zeichner, YouTube’s Artist Partnerships Lead in a statement. “#FoundryFest is a testament to the resiliency of the artist community, and I’m excited for fans to explore what these artists are creating right now, and hear more about their experiences this year.”