Lence finalised the event with the Theatre and within 72 hours of Blur the Lines at Leeds Playhouse being announced the tickets had Sold Out. The stage was set at the Bramall Rock Void. 90 minutes was the allotted time, with a line-up of 20 artists each performing their best work. There was a powerful buzz backstage that night and an electric atmosphere in the auditorium. The event was programmed as part of the annual Leeds Playhouse Furnace Festival celebrating new work.

The occasion mixed together with the excitement everyone felt to share their work in a unique environment made for a memorable event. There was a collective effort from everyone backstage and out in the auditorium to make this one as special as possible. Rappers, Poets & Musicians crossed over into the Theatre Space, presenting their work to the existing supporters that had attended the first event as well as a brand new audience that had never seen this type of variety before at Leeds Playhouse.

This event helped to integrate the Spoken Word and local music scenes with the Theatre, making them aware of the unique array of talent that this City has. Photos from the event would even go on to be used to promote the Furnace Festival itself. This reflected how Blur the Lines had achieved a lasting legacy at Leeds Playhouse, showcasing artists from Leeds that produced work that urgently needed to be seen.

The spark continued to grow, with more interest being generated as a result of the previous events and with momentum continuing to build, Blur the Lines returned to Leeds Lit Fest for the second annual festival. This time the venue was The Holbeck WMC (the oldest Social Club in Britain) run by Slunglow. Lence went to check out the venue a couple of weeks before the event was due to take place and was immediately struck by how much bigger the space was than previous events. The challenge of filling out the space with an audience ready for some Blur the Lines action was accepted. The line-up was established with an injection of new performers, making their debuts.

Some artists that had only previously attended Blur the Lines were now given the chance to perform themselves. This brought a fresh energy and symbolised the direction of the event, observing who was hungry to perform and providing the stage for them to showcase themselves. A trailer for the event was shared online, generating interest and reaching new people. This trailer has since become the benchmark when it comes to pre-show promo for our event. As a result of Blur the Lines returning to Leeds Lit Fest, Leeds Inspired supported the event through their funding.

The night started with a strong sense of anticipation, there was now an expectancy for Blur the Lines to deliver and to live up to the reputation it was building. The large space at The Holbeck WMC began to fill up ahead of the first performance. This event went onto be the biggest attendance yet, with every chair and table taken up. The venue helped to deliver a sensational array of entertainment, presenting Rap alongside Comedy, Poetry and Live Music. All of the artists took to the stage to close the show to a massive reaction from the audience. This was another example of a collective effort, from the camera team, to the sound engineer, to the DJ, all the performers, hosts as well as all the audience members.

Shortly after the third event at Leeds Lit Fest 2020, lockdown meant that there were no live shows for quite a while. Through this period of time photos and videos from the previous Blur the Lines events would often be shared on social media by different artists and audience members reflecting on the memories. In June 2021, Blur the Lines was invited into Leeds Playhouse for a week in the Bramall Rock Void. They spent this time filming new content such as music videos, performances to publish online, footage for future event trailers, artist interviews and much more.

During this time Blur the Lines also began to improve its online presence with the creation of an Instagram Page. This became an online space to share regular updates regarding any new show developments, post clips and photos from previous events as well as feature regular artists and their work. Alongside this, Lence began to attract the attention of Leeds based music development organisation Come Play With Me who were interested in running the next Blur the Lines event in association with them.

This was a great opportunity to further integrate the creative scenes in Leeds and to help more artists appear on their radar. Lence confirmed a date for the next Blur the Lines with The Holbeck WMC and through the support of Come Play With Me, funding was secured with Leeds Inspired. The return event took place on 12.11.21, it was special to have everyone back in the same space, creating a brilliant reunion show. In the run up to the show, promotional interviews with Lence in the Yorkshire Evening Post and on BBC Radio Leeds helped to add to the excitement.

Since the last event Blur the Lines has continued to strengthen its online presence sharing regular interviews with artists as part of a series available on their Instagram & Facebook Pages called the Who? What? Where? They’ve recently interviewed 21 artists, highlighting a featured artist each week, exploring their creative process and delving into their journey so far. Performance videos are also available online at the Blur the Lines YouTube Channel from previous events.