CREATE:LIVE

Image: Jasmine Whalley from Jasmine Quintet

CLAIRE DUPREE MEETS THE YOUNG PROMOTERS WHO, THANKS TO GENERATOR’S CREATE:LIVE PROJECT, ARE TAKING THE REGION’S VENUES BY STORM

Aiming to encourage and support the next generation of live music promoters in the North East, Generator’s Youth Music funded Create:Live programme will this month begin to unleash some exciting and creative line-ups on venues across the region. Promoting live music can often be a difficult task (worldwide pandemic notwithstanding), and young people face many barriers when attempting to navigate the industry. Create:Live was set up last year in order to create pathways into the industry via workshops, masterclasses, mentoring and networking, and to enable a group of young people to get themselves established as grassroots promoters.

“A highlight for me has been watching the ideas develop throughout the programme, as participants learn more about the industry, they’ve been applying that knowledge to their event plans.” Says Helen Walkinshaw, head of creative development at Generator. “Also, the level of commitment and ability to overcome challenges and adapt, despite the live music sector being so uncertain for the duration of the programme! I’m really excited to go to all the shows and see what they all do beyond the programme!”

Among the cohort for the Create:Live programme is Grace Stubbings from alt. rockers Venus Grrrls, who is also a member of Generator’s Youth Advisory Board. “I thought it would be a great networking opportunity, to meet other young promoters in the area and to immerse myself in the eclectic scene that is going on in the North East. This past year, we have had workshops via Zoom with a variety of people in the music and events industry, it has been really insightful and it was very informative for my own creative practice.”

IT HAS BEEN REALLY INSIGHTFUL AND IT WAS VERY INFORMATIVE FOR MY OWN CREATIVE PRACTICE

Grace’s event, which takes place at The Studio in Hartlepool on Saturday 9th April, is an excellent example of the creativity and innovation Create:Live has fostered, celebrating nature and our place within it. She explains the ideas behind it: “My plan is to create an immersive art installation with cross-disciplinary elements at the event. There will be live music from electronic musicians Me Lost Me and Madeleine Smyth, some local artwork on display which explore themes of nature, surveillance and technology, with the addition of some augmented reality that people can access on their phone if they want to. I am hoping to get some local florists involved to help me design the stage area.”

Promoting her shows under the Interchanges moniker, Evie Hill’s event at The Cluny 2, Newcastle on Sunday 27th February aims to expose the audience to refreshing and vibrant genres and encourage innovation. “The concept of Interchanges came about after a conversation between friends about the points of crossover between different genres, and the fact that genres such as jazz and hip-hop share a similar musical trajectory and history. It feels like many audiences and artists don’t often collaborate because of the boundaries of genre, so Interchanges is a way for two sides of a musical coin to come together and discover something new!”

The line-up includes MF Doom-inspired jazz instrumentalists Jasmine Quintet, who will be joined by MC and hip-hop artist Holly Lightly Flo, and North East beatmakers Chumbo working alongside hip-hop artist and broadcaster Repeat Beat Poet. “Understanding the musical trajectories of different genres allows us to see that the binaries are a lot more blurred than we might think, and that we all owe something to an artist we may not even realise has influenced us.” She explains.

Further events will take place across the North East throughout the Spring, keep an eye on social media and Generator’s website for more info. www.generator.org.uk

RepeatBeatPoet