Live from Sidcup Library
Photo by Cristian Balate
What happens when you bring together solo artists, bands, current ArtsTrain members and alumni under one roof? A night of incredible original songwriting, a brilliant way to showcase the talent of our young people, and a celebration of what ArtsTrain has meant to members past and present.
On Thursday 3rd April our artists performed to an intimate audience amongst the books at Sidcup’s landmark cultural destination, the Storyteller. We’re hugely grateful to London Borough of Bexley for funding the gig as part of the #CelebratingBexley programme; the borough's year-long celebration of arts, culture and events in Bexley.
The night was the perfect opportunity for young people to perform their tracks in a relaxed setting for the first time. Our Bromley and Bexley Academies performed their original songs they had been working on this term, and we had performances from solo Academy members and local guest bands too, all sharing original music.
“It’s fantastic to bring live music to the Storyteller in Sidcup and to be able to give our emerging young musical talents a platform to showcase their musical creativity in Sidcup’s landmark cultural building and as part of the #celebratingbexley programme.”
Photo by Cristian Balate
In between performances, we heard from our Academy alumni - our host Dan, and Anoushka and Noel are now music leaders for ArtsTrain, coming full circle from Academy members and taking part in every part of the ArtsTrain experience. On stage, host Dan asked Anoushka and Noel about their paths as songwriters, instrumentalists and performers and how ArtsTrain shaped them as musicians.
“It’s an internal journey you go on as a musician learning to express yourself, but a very fruitful one. Being aware and in tune with how you’re feeling can bring out the best in your playing.”
“It’s a language - music is a community thing, it needs to be shared. You’ll have these nerves and once you go through them and be yourself, when you do it again and again, you start to fall in love with the feeling of being on stage.”
We also heard from Callie, who performed at her last Academy gig with us, and reflected on what she will take away from the project, and who she’s been inspired by:
“Thank you Noel for not letting me be afraid of my ideas, maybe they are okay. Thank you Anoushka for letting me bring out my goofy side, teaching us how to move forward and learning how to face criticism. And thank you Annabell for blessing us with this environment [that] you’ve built with so many beside you… [We’ve had] two unforgettable Jazz Fests and a billion gigs, and so much more - I will never forget this. So thank you all for carrying ArtsTrain, it carries the next generation, and they will carry you.”
Overall, it was a fantastic turnout, and a huge thank you to all ArtsTrain participants past and present who came to watch and support.
“I found it really inspiring, it’s cool how there’s so many different generations of ArtsTrain and everyone has different styles of music too. It’s motivating also to see that I can do music despite my age and that we can become artists.”
All photos of the gig were taken by Cristian Balate, a parent of one of our Academy members - a huge thank you to Cristian!