“Time to blast riffs and throw a TV out a hotel window”: IDLES, Wet Leg and Sam Fender all graduated from the Fender Next programme – meet its Class of 2025, ft. Horsegirl, Lambrini Girls, Man/Woman/Chainsaw and more

Otoha holds a blue Fender Strat in a staged setting with neon pink and blue lights overhead.

Fender Next has unveiled its class of 2025, with the artist development programme’s alumni IDLES and Omar Apollo helping the Big F whittle a long list of nearly a thousand acts down to just 20, all of whom Fender says are “redefining what it means to be a modern guitarist”.

Now in its seventh year, the success of the programme is evident in some of the acts who have passed through its ranks over the years. Wet Leg, Sam Fender, Nova Twins, Japanese Breakfast and Phoebe Bridgers were all Fender Next artists, and those looking to follow in their footsteps – leveraging Fender’s marketing push, strategic partnerships with Apple Music etc – feature artists from rock and pop, punk-rock and indie to hopecore.