North Cardiff school students were among those from across the city who took to the stage at Clwb Ifor Bach in a series of music showcase events for an audience that included national radio DJs.
The process started last autumn when a series of ‘Little Gigs' by some of the hottest acts on the Welsh music scene toured Cardiff's secondary schools, kickstarting a Cardiff Council programme aimed at inspiring learners and providing a pipeline of talent for the city's music sector.
Now, after a programme of mentoring, training and support from music industry partners, including Cerddcf, Anthem, and Sound Progression, as well as Duke al Durham, Maddie Jones, Alex Jones, Wonderbrass, Dflexx and Farrah, pupils from schools across Cardiff have performed at Clwb Ifor Bach in front of BBC Radio 6 Music DJ Huw Stephens and BBC Radio 1 DJ Sam MacGregor.
Many of the 21 bands performing, were formed during workshops run as part of the Little Gigs programme, which included ‘Band from Scratch' workshops as well as sessions on music production, songwriting and composition.
The programme also included opportunities to get involved behind the scenes with workshops and sessions covering stage management, band management, and promotion - including the opportunity to design and print band t-shirts to wear at the showcase gigs, at a ‘Design your own Merch' session with Printhaus, facilitated by Arts Active.
Speaking ahead of performing, HJ from the band Violet Chapter - made up of pupils from Ysgol Plasmawr, Radyr Comprehensive, and Cardiff West Community High School and formed out of a shared love of Metallica at a ‘Band from Scratch' workshop - said: "This has been the best. I always thought I was going to do music, but this has made me want to do it so much more. If I was to say how to get young people into music, it would be to do this. Get other kids to do this."
Amelie, who is a final year student at Cardiff High School and is due to begin a Music Production course at college in September, said: "It's been really good, really inclusive, really positive - I like being in a band and playing and all that stuff, but I think being in a band and knowing how to manage yourself and promote yourself as a musician is really important as well, I just find it really interesting. I've learned a lot about planning, watching how they plan the gigs, which has really helped me."
Deputy council leader and cabinet member for education, Sarah Merry, said: "The first year of our Little Gigs programme has taken pupils from a place where some of them had never experienced a gig before, to performing their own music at one of Cardiff's most iconic venues in front of established industry professionals - that's quite a journey in the space of one academic year.
"The skills they've gained and the experiences they've had as part of the Little Gigs programme will give them all a really good base for potential future careers in the music sector, whether that's performing on stage or in one of the many behind the scenes roles in the industry."
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