Soundcheck Sessions

Soundcheck Sessions offer young people (age 14+) the chance to come to a venue before doors open to the public, to watch the artist, playing that night, soundcheck and then have Q&A with them along with some of the crew and venue team. Participants can come from local schools, colleges and youth groups, often giving them their first experience inside a grassroots music venue.
Hearing directly from the artist, as well those behind the scenes including venue owner/operator, promoter, sound engineer, tour manager etc about what their jobs involve, how a show happens and what it means to go on tour, gives young people an introduction to the live music industry and possible careers that they could be interested in. By introducing participants to their local music venue at an early age, collectively we can build excitement about live music, local venues and open young people up to the various careers that are available to them, many of which they are probably not even aware of.
These free sessions also allow venues to welcome young people through their doors and build relationships with new audiences, and possibly crew, of the future. This, in turn, demonstrates their increasingly important role as a vital creative hub in their local community for development and education. Our experience shows that artists and their crew are very willing to take the time to speak with young people and share their experiences of their work. Whilst we offer a framework for the sessions, this isn’t a prescriptive initiative, as each session will involve different venue teams, crew, artists and other music industry professionals, so we encourage each venue to make it their own.
These sessions are delivered in-person and are completely free to attend. Studies show that students from low-income families who take part in the arts activities at school are three times more likely to get a degree than children from low income families who do not engage in arts activities at school.