Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
My experience of being a student volunteer at Live at Leeds 2023
Live at Leeds is a multi-venue music festival based in the city. It offers a brilliant opportunity for Leeds School of Arts students to volunteer and make valuable industry connections.
Here, BA (Hons) Music Production student Sarah McBean shares her experience of volunteering at Live at Leeds 2023 and Carl Flattery (Principal Lecturer in Music & Performing Arts) explains how the festival benefits Leeds School of Arts students.
Sarah McBean - BA (Hons) Music Production
What is Live at Leeds?
Live at Leeds has been running since 2007 as a multi-venue music festival in Leeds, showcasing national and international music artists. It provides an incredible opportunity for artists while showing the true passion and drive behind the Leeds music scene. This year featured 15 different popular venues including The Wardrobe, Brudenell Social Club, Hyde Park Book Club and my personal favourite – The Leeds Beckett main stage.
What did you do?
This year I undertook the role of Artist Liaison which meant that my job was to make sure the day ran as smoothly as possible for the stage manager, the crew and all the talented artists who would be playing for audiences throughout the day. This included setting up the dressing rooms for the artists, making sure they were on stage on time for their set and sound checks, helping load in and out, liasing with crew and security and most importantly making sure the artists were having the best time!
Sarah McBean (left) with her co-volunteers, Victoria Lay (middle) and Euan Morrison (right)
Who did you get to meet?
So many talented artists! On our stage we had Pigs x7, Keg, Hamish Hawk, The Bug Club, The Last Dinner Party and Wunderhorse. It was an amazing experience to talk with each of the bands to learn about their backgrounds, their inspirations as well as what they are doing next. I think for me personally, the highlight was getting to work alongside so many dedicated and brilliant industry professionals who were working non-stop behind the scenes to put everything together.
Did you get to watch any of the bands?
Yes! The best part about the collaboration is that the volunteers run in shifts, either 9-4pm or 4-11pm, meaning no matter what shift you work you can still enjoy the festival in all the other venues with your crew wristband. I was lucky enough to work the earlier shift so by 5pm I ventured out to see a few bands ‘off the clock’ including Cassia at LUU, Wunderhorse back at the LBSU main stage and Flat Moon at Vinyl whistle.
Flat Moon live at the Vinyl Whistle
Would you recommend volunteering at Live at Leeds?
100%. This is the second time I have volunteered, and I loved it even more than the first. Live at Leeds creates the perfect environment for music students to network, make friends, learn new skills, and gain relevant work experience in an industry environment. If you have the opportunity to volunteer do so!
Carl Flattery - Principal Lecturer in Music & Performing Arts
I started working with Live at Leeds in 2010, founding the Live at Leeds Unconference and the Artist Liaison volunteer scheme. It has been a joy to watch our student volunteers have a fantastic time at the festival while gaining valuable industry experience and forming networks.
They often work alongside our graduates who also volunteered for the festival when they were students. This includes Josh Cherrington, who is now the Events Manager at the Leeds Arena and was supervising Sarah at this year’s festival. Graduates working alongside students, sharing their experience, and showing them the way forward is an invaluable learning experience.
