Artist - Dilettante
Francesca Pidgeon is a multi-instrumentalist and composer from Leeds. She has released 2 albums and EPs under the moniker Dilettante. In 2023 she received the prestigious Paul Hamlyn Award for Artists and began scoring for film, winning the inaugural New Music Award at Aesthetica Film Festival. She is currently producing for other artists and scoring a TV series for release in 2027.
In 2024 she won the Casio Sessions national competition for piano songwriters and is the awardee of multiple grants from organisations including PRS Foundation, Help Musicians, Launchpad+ and The Glasshouse.
She is also a session player for various artists and former member of Bella Union’s BC Camplight with whom she toured extensively for 7 years, headlining 1000+ capacity venues across the UK and Europe, playing festivals like Glastonbury, Green Man, End of The Road, 6Music Festival and All Points East, and appearing in televised performances including Jools Holland.
Dilettante is an art-pop project based in the North of England. They have performed across the UK and internationally and have supported the likes of Caribou, Self Esteem + Philip Selway (Radiohead). The latest record ‘Life Of The Party’ was released via EMI North / Launchpad+ and received 4* from MOJO Magazine, who called it a “A dazzlingly skewed pop-vision”.
In the past year alone they have sold out headline shows across the UK, making festival appearances at SXSW (Texas, US) NXNE (Toronto, CAN), Pop Montreal, Kendal Calling, Deershed, Live at Leeds, Manchester Jazz Festival, Focus Wales and The Great
Escape.
Dilettante has performed live on 6Music 5 times and has received plaudits and radio play from DJs including Steve Lamacq, Iggy Pop, Gideon Coe, Mark Radcliffe, Stuart Maconie, Craig Charles, Huw Stephens and Marc Riley amongst others. They will be releasing 2 EPs with Partisan's Skinny Pelembe in 2027.
