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Leeds Beckett students take centre stage at tenth Live at Leeds festival
A team of music, events management, entertainment management and broadcast media students are set to get involved in a variety of roles at the weekend as they work and perform at the annual Unconference music industry event, the Live at Leeds music festival, and the Live at Leeds Extra Time charity football match.
Simon Bell, Senior Lecturer in Events Management at Leeds Beckett said: “Over the last 10 years, Leeds Beckett’s role from being an original partner in the festival has really gone from strength to strength. We have more students every year all gaining hands-on experience and really enjoying it. It’s now such a popular festival and something we are pleased to be a key part of.”
On Friday 29 April, Events Management students at Leeds Beckett will work together with Futuresound Events, Broadcast Leeds and PRS for Music Foundation to run the Unconference, a day of music industry expert panels, discussions and workshops, which will be filmed by Broadcast Media students at the University. This year Live at Leeds is joining forces with Leeds Digital Festival and the Unconference will bring together the music industry with cutting-edge digital innovations.
Samuel Nicholls, Senior Lecturer in Music at Leeds Beckett, commented: “It’s fantastic to be able to bring music industry professionals to Leeds for the Unconference, allowing our students and the public to engage with them and share their knowledge in an informal setting. The opportunity for BA (Hons) Events Management students to work on a real-life event, in collaboration with the team at Leeds College of Music, is invaluable.”
Registration will take place at the Wardrobe at 10am, with workshops taking place throughout the day at Leeds College of Music. Victoria Hesketh, also known as electronic pop artist Little Boots, will deliver the keynote talk, followed by industry expert panels on: music and the media on digital platforms; artist tools for self-promotion; and getting inside music streaming services.
There will also be a ‘meet the experts’ roundtable session including: Stuart Belsham at PRS for Music and Bhavesh Patel at PRS Foundation; Alan Raw, CEO at the Creative and Cultural Company and BBC Introducing Presenter; Sam Robson, former Leeds musician and now band manager for Tri-Tone Management; and Scott Lewis, head of Leeds independent label, Clue Records.
On Saturday 30 April, the Live at Leeds music festival will take place in venues across the city, with Events Management students running the festival wristband exchange at the first direct Arena.
Student Josey Stoddart explained: “My group and I are organising the Wristband Exchange for Live at Leeds 2016 as part of our Professional Event Solutions module. We will see thousands of attendees come along and visit us to exchange their tickets for wristbands before they head off and enjoy the acts.
“We have been working alongside Anna Raymond from Futuresound, organising the logistics of filtering the attendees into various different queues and areas at the arena (for example, main tickets, collections, VIP, press, e-tickets and box office). We have also recruited a team of just over 50 student volunteers to assist us on the day.
“We are learning a lot through organising the event, such as what licenses are needed at the first direct Arena in order to run the event and serve alcohol in the VIP bar, and how to recruit and manage a team of volunteers.
“The fact that Live at Leeds is celebrating its 10 year anniversary makes it even more exciting and we are really looking forward to the event and seeing it all come together!”
Music students will be managing stages and live sound, with several current and former students of Leeds Beckett taking to the stage as performers: including Cat Una, Narcs, Party Hardly, TUSK and Katie Dean.
Finally, on Monday 2 May, Events Management students will run the Live at Leeds Extra Time football match in aid of Martin House Children’s Hospice, taking place at Goals on Redcote Lane, off Kirkstall Road, from 12pm to 6.30pm.
The day will feature a five-a-side football tournament, live music, food and drink, a photo booth and pub quiz. This year’s football teams include the Leeds Beckett graphics and broadcast media teams, ITV Yorkshire, Brudenell Social Club, Delete digital creative agency, Leeds College of Music and the O2 Academy; who will all compete to take the trophy from last year’s winners, Trinity Leeds.
Samuel added: “Live At Leeds Extra Time is a great event that brings together a large number of music industry organisations in Leeds in a social setting at Goals Soccer Centre. For the students to be able to facilitate this, while raising money for Martin House Children’s Hospice, is fantastic experience.”
The live music stage is being organised with partners including Broadcast Leeds and is presented with support from PRS for Music Foundation.