Mae Stephens revealed as Northampton Music Festival headliner

The Kettering singer songwriter released her debut EP Securely Insecure this month and recently played in front of thousands of fans at Gunnersbury Park in London supporting Tom Grennan.

She will play the festival which returns to Northampton on Sunday, September 8.

Tommy Gardner from the festival’s organising committee said: “Mae’s journey over the last 18 months has been nothing short of incredible.

“Mae has a wonderful voice and is extremely talented. It’s brilliant to see a local artist doing so well nationally and internationally.

“What makes this announcement particularly special for the festival is that Mae performed on one of our acoustic stages back at NMF22 and just two years later she is returning to headline.”

Mae broke through last year, when her attitude-filled alt-pop bop, If We Ever Broke Up became an international smash.

The song has been streamed nearly one billion times and was named the second most popular song on TikTok globally in 2023.

Due to ongoing work around Northampton town centre, the main stage at this year’s festival will be in Guildhall Road.

Mr Gardner added moving the main stage to a new location would help bring the festival closer together.

The main stage will also feature sets by Eden Lole, Woahgetter, Maddox Jones, Freya Rose, Weirdoe, The Vandervalls, Megzz and Nerissa & The Vibe.

More acts and stages across the town will be announced in the coming days.

Ahead of the festival, BBC Introducing will be hosting a night at The Black Prince in Abington Square which will feature Loz Seka, Viddy and Hana Brooks.

For more information about Northampton Music Festival, visit https://www.northamptonmusicfestival.co.uk