Zahra is a new emerging pop artist in the midst of debuting her first EP ‘Windows Down’. Having started to write her own songs since she was young, her new releases reflect the highs and lows of being a teenager-turned-twenty navigating the tricky but exciting worlds of summer love, growing into yourself and being a girl in the 21st Century. Her songs range from different sub-genres of pop while her lyrics remain an important foundation throughout them all. Playing all four songs from her EP in an intimate acoustic set, you’ll hear the songs how they were written, as well as some unheard and unreleased songs. Zahra is super excited to get to play at the Half Moon, so close to where she grew up - this will be a special performance!

Embodying the assertive DIY attitude of punk rockers, but placed in a commercial environment, Ben Kidson moves with the times. His music combines modern pop writing and production elements (think harry styles, taylor swift), with the alternative rock energy and arrangement of his heroes, Nirvana.

in 2022/23, Ben’s energetic live show earnt him a spot as a finalist at the Isle of Wight Festival’s ‘New Blood’ Competition, and at the American Express Gold Unsigned competition. If you’ve used Tiktok recently, you’ll see and hear him on an advert for Amex, which has had over 7 million views to date, and if you use Amazon Prime, you’ve likely seen him in ‘Unsigned’, a documentary about the competition itself.

Ben already has a fan in legendary singer Robert Plant, who signed him to the Wolves Records, and helped him get Radio 1 support on his first single ‘Joking’. He performed on the BBC introducing stage at Boardmasters festival in August, with his performance being chosen as one of the few to be broadcast across BBC Southwest as a highlight of the weekend.

Liverpool-born, Madrid bred (and now living in South London) alt-pop artist Ellie Moon, since her 2020 emergence with her debut EP ‘Moonisms’, has crafted a unique pop sound that feels both endlessly captivating and accessible while distinctively her own and brimming with guile and quirky appeal. After rave reviews for her debut EP from tastemakers such as Line of Best Fit, Clout and Fame and Spotify Fresh Finds playlisting, Ellie returned with her second EP ‘Bad TV’ at the end of 2022 receiving tastemaker plaudits including Wonderland and Clout, Apple Music playlisting and significant support from BBC Introducing including a live session which also featured in Dave Monks’ ‘Highlights of BBC Introducing (Merseyside) 2022’ end of year show. This year has already seen Ellie perform across a number of London grass-roots venues as well as at The Great Escape festival (Brighton, UK) and new music is in the pipeline. Tastemakers have described her music as “it’s fair to say that exciting Liverpool-born and Madrid-bred artist Ellie Moon is something of a unique quantity. Her razor sharp lyrics and innate sense of personable charm have done a great job of endearing the artist to listeners, and that is before you even begin to think about the effortless appeal of her melodic alternative pop sound.” In true Ellie Moon fashion she also acerbically describes her sound as “the lyrical and melodical love child of Jarvis Cocker and Gwen Stefani”.