On a Thursday night in south London, a twenty-three-year-old singer born in the south-east walked onto the stage at Brixton Academy and began a run that will put her ahead of every British woman who has held a solo residency there. The record is a matter of nights, but it sits inside a longer story: a young artist rising quickly through the industry, carrying the people who shaped her onto the stage with her. What she does with that position, and whether she widens the path behind her, will matter more over time than the tally of gigs.
Skye Newman Becomes First British Female Solo Artist to Crack Brixton Academy Five-Gig Residency
No British female solo artist has played that many nights there before.
Mark
Five nights at Brixton Academy. How big a deal is that, really?
Mimi
It's a first for a British female solo artist there. She passes Little Simz, who did three nights in 2021, and she's 23 with only two singles out of the gate that both reached the top 20.
Luke
Careful with the word record, though. The claim is specific: British, female, solo. Debbie Harry, Phoebe Bridgers and Chappell Roan have all had Brixton residencies, and the piece doesn't say how many nights they played.
Mimi
Fair. The source frames it as leading UK female solo stars, not women overall.
Mark
What stands out about how she talks about it?
Mimi
She keeps coming back to women. She insists on an all-female band, and says if she can put a woman in a role, she will.
Luke
That's her stated policy. We don't get numbers on her wider crew or hiring, so it's a pledge rather than something measured.
Mark
And the Amy Winehouse connection?
Mimi
Winehouse played the same venue in 2007. Newman sang Addicted at a BBC Back to Black anniversary gig and was open about being scared of it.
Luke
Worth noting that's her own account of the day. The reporting here doesn't include outside reaction to the performance.
Mark
What comes next for her?
Mimi
Australia in December, supporting Harry Styles, which she describes as surreal after growing up a One Direction fan.
Il Polso
- Skye Newman opened a five-night run at Brixton Academy, and by the end of the schedule she will have outlasted Little Simz's 2021 record by two nights.
- Her rise has come fast, from the BBC Sound of 2026 title to a top-five single, and the pace is raising expectations on every date.
- She insists on an all-female band and has pledged to keep hiring women, turning a residency into a deliberate statement about who gets room to work.
- The shows run through the weekend and into next week, then move to Australia in December for support slots with Harry Styles, where the run's momentum will be tested far from home.
On a Thursday night in south London, a twenty-three-year-old singer born in the south-east walked onto the stage at Brixton Academy and began a run that will put her ahead of every British woman who has held a solo residency there. The record is a matter of nights, but it sits inside a longer story: a young artist rising quickly through the industry, carrying the people who shaped her onto the stage with her. What she does with that position, and whether she widens the path behind her, will matter more over time than the tally of gigs.
On Thursday night, Skye Newman walked onto the stage at Brixton Academy to open a five-night run. At 23, she becomes the first British female solo artist to play that many gigs at the south London venue, overtaking Little Simz's three-night record from 2021 by two nights. Speaking to the BBC's Mark Savage beforehand, she said the honour gave her "goosebumps and chills" and that she does not take being the first woman to do it lightly.
Newman was born in south-east London and has moved quickly. She won the BBC Sound of 2026, her debut single Hairdresser reached the top 20, and its follow-up Family Matters hit number five in June. She has supported Ed Sheeran and Lewis Capaldi, and Sir Elton John has called her incredibly talented. Her Brixton run places her among the leading UK female solo performers at the venue, following residencies there by women such as Debbie Harry and Phoebe Bridgers.
Her team on stage is entirely women, a choice she ties to the women who built her and gave her room to grow. She has said she will keep giving women work and a helping hand wherever she can. She also paid tribute to Amy Winehouse, who played the same venue in 2007, performing Addicted at a Back to Black anniversary gig for the BBC.
The Brixton shows continue through the weekend and into next week. Next month she heads to Australia to support Harry Styles, a band she followed as a child and whose fans were her own age then. She called the slot "just mental".
On Thursday night, Skye Newman walked onto the stage at Brixton Academy in south London to open a five-night run at the venue. No British female solo artist has played that many gigs there before. At 23, she is the first.
The record falls to her by two nights. Rapper Little Simz headlined three nights at the venue in 2021, and Newman is set to overtake that. After the opening show come three more gigs this weekend and one added date the following week. Speaking to the BBC's Mark Savage before the run began, she said it had given her "goosebumps and chills". She added that her jaw drops all the time and that she feels honoured to be the first woman to do it, and does not take that lightly.
Newman was born in south-east London. The BBC's music correspondent describes her as loud, raw and strikingly honest. She won the BBC Sound of 2026 and is a Brit Award nominee. Her debut single, Hairdresser, went straight into the top 20 last year. The follow-up, Family Matters, reached number five in June, and it made her the first female artist since Ella Henderson in 2014 to land her first two singles in the top 20. Last month she played Radio 1's Big Weekend in Sunderland. Earlier on, the husky-voiced soul and R&B singer supported Ed Sheeran and Lewis Capaldi on tour, and Sir Elton John has called her "incredibly talented" and "something else".
Brixton has hosted big residencies by other women. Debbie Harry, Romy Croft of The XX, Phoebe Bridgers, Chappell Roan and Tash Sultana have all enjoyed them. Newman's run puts her at the front among UK female solo performers at one of the country's most prestigious venues.
She insists on an all-female band on stage. She said women are the centre of her world, the people who built her and gave her space to grow and find herself, so she had to take that on stage with her. She also pointed to how social media is affecting the way women are treated, and said she is determined to keep women working. If she can put a woman in a role, she will, she said, and she will give out jobs and a helping hand.
She has also paid tribute recently to another soulful London singer who played the same venue in 2007, the late Amy Winehouse. At a special Back to Black anniversary gig for the BBC, Newman performed Addicted. She said Winehouse's music is so incredible that you don't want to touch it, and that no one would ever do it like Amy. The performers all felt the fear of living up to that expectation and filling "big shoes", she said, but she thinks they all smashed it, and called it the most beautiful, inspirational day she has had in a very long time.
Next month she heads to Australia for a series of support slots with Harry Styles. A childhood One Direction fan, she called it "surreal" and said she agreed with no questions asked. She joked that she told her team to cancel whatever else she had on. She was the age of One Direction's fans when the band were big, she said, and Harry and Zayn were her favourites, so supporting Styles now is "just mental".
The Brixton shows continue through the weekend and into next week, before Australia follows in December.
Citazioni salienti
Women are the centre of my world. They're the people that built me.— Skye Newman
It's crazy. My jaw drops all the time. I feel honoured to be the first woman, and I don't take it lightly.— Skye Newman
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