Soul Connection: YolanDa Brown

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Words by Peter Anderson

Photography by Ben Benoliel

After receiving the Mercury Prize at a packed Utilita Arena, and declaring the North East “the best region in the world”, an emotional Sam Fender spoke of how Newcastle had “always been in an isolated bubble” from the music industry.

His words encapsulated why the moment felt so significant, not just for him, but for a region long brimming with talent yet so often overlooked.

But while the North Shields singer-songwriter had to leave the North East to pursue his dreams, the purpose of bringing the Mercury Prize to Newcastle was to ensure the next generation would no longer have to make such a move.

For double MOBO Award-winning saxophonist and broadcaster YolanDa Brown, who was instrumental in the decision to take the award outside London as chair of the British Phonographic Industry, the shift was not only about enhancing the Prize’s impact, but also about bringing it to a city she has come to know and love.

She says: “Music crosses boundaries.

“It’s not just made in London – especially for the Mercury Prize, where the albums we’re celebrating are coming from all over the UK.

“So why does it only have to remain in London?”

As part of the leadership team behind both the BRIT Awards and the Mercury Prize, YolanDa had long believed the time was right to reimagine how such events could better reflect the breadth of talent across the country.

She adds: “It just felt like the Mercury Prize needed that refresh, that pep… and when I was in Newcastle, you could see the infrastructure was already in place and there was a real willingness and appetite to make it happen.”

That ambition is now beginning to take shape across the wider industry.

With the MOBO Awards also hosted in Newcastle in 2025 and the BRIT Awards heading to Manchester in 2026, there is a growing sense that the UK’s biggest music events are no longer confined to the capital.

YolanDa says: “The regions are showing just how important they are – not just for developing the next generation of music makers, but for hosting these events and showcasing them to the rest of the world.”

Award-winning saxophonist, composer and broadcaster YolanDa Brown

Working in partnership with Newcastle City Council, the North East Combined Authority and regional music development agency Generator, the 2025 Mercury Prize became the first in its history to be staged outside London since its inception in 1992.

For YolanDa, the success of the event was captured in the atmosphere inside the arena on the night.

She says: “I was so proud to be looking around at all the people who had bought tickets.

“No two genres were the same – you had folk, indie, experimental… and you could have heard a pin drop.

“People were just there to embrace the music.

“It was such a beautiful night.”

Broadcast across BBC platforms and reaching a global audience of around 1.6 billion, the awards not only showcased the best of British and Irish music, but also placed Newcastle firmly on the international stage.

Yet it was the activity beyond the arena that perhaps best captured its spirit.

A week-long fringe programme, delivered by Generator, extended the impact across the region, with live performances, workshops, industry panels and community events engaging thousands of people and providing opportunities for emerging artists and young audiences alike.

From the Mini Mercury Choir, which saw dozens of children take part in workshops before coming together to perform Sam Fender’s ‘People Watching’, to industry-led sessions designed to inspire the next generation, the programme ensured the Prize reached far beyond its traditional audience.

YolanDa says: “Everybody I spoke to said, ‘I can’t believe in my lifetime I’m seeing the Mercury Prize come to Newcastle’.

“And you think, actually, this is exactly why it should be here.

“There’s so much talent, so much passion.

“And now there’s a platform for it.”

The results were tangible.

The event generated more than £1.4 million for the regional economy, supported jobs and attracted thousands of visitors.

For YolanDa, though, the Mercury Prize’s true success lies in something less measurable.

She says: “None of it felt tokenistic. It was real.

“And you can still feel the effects months later.

“That’s when you know something has worked – when it continues to live on in the city.”

YolanDa’s ties to Newcastle run much deeper than music, rooted in a long-standing love for the city’s football club.

That connection began through her husband and music manager Adetokunbo ‘T’ Oyelola, whose lifelong passion for the Magpies would ultimately become YolanDa’s own.

She says: “My husband has so much passion for the club, for the story – it’s in his blood.”

T’s connection to Newcastle United stretches back to childhood, when, after moving from Nigeria to North London, he was introduced to English football in the way so many young fans are – by being asked who he supported.

While others gravitated towards the capital’s clubs, T was instead drawn to Newcastle.

YolanDa adds: “He watched Arsenal, he watched Tottenham, and then he saw a Newcastle match.

“They lost horribly, but he saw the support, he read about the story and he just felt it was his spirit animal.”

That passion would become a defining part of their relationship.

Introduced to the club through T, YolanDa’s own connection quickly deepened, with regular trips from London to St James’ Park becoming a feature of their lives.

She says: “We used to go up for games all the time.

“Those became our date weekends – watching the match, being right there with the team.

“And I was sold from the first time I heard ‘Local Hero’ – a saxophone solo ringing out around the stadium… I mean, are you kidding me? That was it.”

And, as any Toon supporter will tell you, that sense of belonging has never been about results.

YolanDa adds: “It was much more than the game.

“It’s the club, the people, the history, the feeling.

“You feel part of something truly special.”

Nearly two decades on, that sense of belonging has only grown stronger, with YolanDa now a proud patron of the Newcastle United Foundation, the charitable arm of the club, which engages and inspires more than 70,000 people across the North East each year.

She says: “I’ve seen first-hand the extraordinary reach and impact it has.

“It just feels right to be working with them.”

Her role has already seen her bring a slice of Tyneside to the capital.

At her London venue Soul Mama, YolanDa recently hosted a fundraising event for the Newcastle United Foundation, welcoming special guests including former Magpies’ striker Shola Ameobi and chief executive David Hodgkinson.

She adds: “To be in our own venue, hosting this thing for Newcastle, with so many Geordie fans there – it really felt like being home away from home.”

The event brought together supporters from across London, many with deep-rooted connections to the North East, reinforcing the club’s far-reaching community and cultural pull.

And for YolanDa, that connection is now firmly a family affair.

With daughters Jemima and Adelphi both proudly wearing the black and white, the passion has been passed down to the next generation.

She adds: “They’ve both got their kits, they love watching the games and they’re living it with us.”

That same spirit of connection is something YolanDa is now channelling into her own venture.

Soul Mama, the live music and dining concept she co-founded with her husband, blends world-class performance with food inspired by mamas from around the globe, creating a space where audiences can experience everything from jazz and soul to gospel and reggae under one roof.

Having launched the concept at The Gantry hotel in Stratford in 2024, the pair are now expanding, with new venues opening in Islington and at Westfield Stratford City as part of an ambitious growth plan backed by a £1 million crowdfunding campaign.

YolanDa says: “We want to cement ourselves as a great place for music and food.

“You can have Katherine Jenkins, Mica Paris or the Syd Lawrence Orchestra – it’s a space where it can all come together under one roof.”

While the immediate focus is on establishing the brand in the capital, YolanDa is clear that her long-term vision stretches further north.

She adds: “There’s no doubt in our minds that Soul Mama will be in Newcastle in the coming years.

“We’ve been having lots of meetings over the past year, and we’re getting closer to announcing a location.”

For YolanDa, the concept is as much about platform as it is place – creating opportunities for artists to perform and audiences to connect.

She adds: “Artists want to play all over the country and across the world.

“If we can build a multi-venue platform that supports that, then we can bring them to Newcastle.

“That’s the dream.”

Given the city’s growing reputation for its food and music scenes, it is a prospect she believes is a natural fit.

YolanDa says: “There are already so many great venues and amazing restaurants in the city; it’s about bringing that together.

“We want to create a place where people can come for great food, experience incredible music and feel part of something.”

In recognition of her enduring passion for Newcastle, as well as her role in bringing the Mercury Prize to Tyneside, YolanDa was recently awarded the Honorary Freedom of the City of Newcastle – becoming the first black woman to receive the accolade.

Formally presented during an International Women’s Day event at the Civic Centre, YolanDa followed in the footsteps of footballing royalty Sir Bobby Robson, Alan Shearer and Eddie Howe, as well as global figures such as Nelson Mandela and Stevie Wonder, in receiving the city’s highest civic honour.

She says: “It’s surreal.

“I’m honoured, really chuffed.

“I said on the day that this is just the start of a beautiful partnership.

“I’ve had a connection with the city for many years, but to really drive change and create opportunities, it begins here.”

And that sense of momentum is already being felt.

The Mercury Prize will return to Newcastle later this year, taking over the Utilita Arena and the wider region, as the city once again steps back into the spotlight.

For YolanDa, it represents another opportunity to strengthen what has already been created.

She says: “We’re so glad to be back.

“It’s going to be bigger, it’s going to be better – and the fringe event is going to grow as well.”

With awareness now firmly established, YolanDa believes the next chapter will be defined not just by scale, but by participation.

She adds: “Now people know what it looks like, what it feels like, you’ll see so many more people getting involved.

“That’s what it’s about – letting the city make the most of the moment.”