This weekly music guide is brought to you in partnership with PPL PRS Ltd. Big thanks for their ongoing support of local acts and venues.
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Diary Dates
Trevor Nelson’s 90s and 00s Mixtape – Friday 15 September
O2 Academy
The perfect warm-up to BBC Radio 2 in the Park. One of the country’s top r’n’b and hip-hop devotees. Resident DJ at Funk at Sound and regular contributor on Radio 1 and MTV. He is without question the main man in all that’s hiphop, RnB, soul and reggae related, while his 1xtra breakfast show is usually what rouses you out of bed in the morning.
SKAM (acoustic show) – Friday 22 September
The Guildhall
A three piece, flick rock band from Leicester who play a blend of classic British rock with elements of punk and heavy metal. They have been compared to the Foo Fighters, Therapy? and AC/DC. With a reputation for delivering no nonsense, gutsy, classic sounding British rock music, played with passion and conviction the band have steadily built a strong local following.
Gengahr – Monday 25 September
O2 Academy
Gengahr create effortlessly smooth and melodic indie-rock that journeys along a laidback sun-kissed path with a sound that could easily stem from influences drawn from icons such as The Smiths and Modest Mouse, to the more recently revered Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Youth Lagoon.
Gaz Brookfield – Thursday 5 October
The Musician
Anti-folk artist and winner of Acoustic Magazines’s UK singer-songwriter competition. His songs are instantly accessible, everyman tales of life, love and everything else in between. Played in a folk-ish style with occasional use of the guitar as a percussive tool, as well as some two handed venturing around the fretboard, Gaz’s simple yet poignant songwriting captures the imagination of the listener.
Uncle Frank – Friday 6 October
The Soundhouse
Multi-instrumentalists Frank Benbini (one third of Fun Lovin’ Criminals) and Naim Cortazzi from Leicester are the founding members of Uncle Frank. “Oh my, this is the blues as originally intended, James Brown and all the funkery that goes with that. Add in a dose of electro pulsation and you have something that sits easily in the here and now but also pulls from the glorious past.”
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NEWS: Leicester music licensing company join local charity for alternative music education provision
Leicester-based music licensing company (and sponsors of our music guide), PPL PRS, are delighted to announce that they are working with local arts charity Pedestrian to help provide access to an Alternative Education Provision (AEP) to young people in Leicestershire and across the region.
The company, who issue TheMusicLicence to businesses and organisations to play or perform music in public, celebrated the partnership with a launch event of the SoundLab course at their Mercury Place offices.
Pedestrian provides an alternative learning programme for those who have struggled in mainstream education to achieve their goals. They utilise mentoring principles to develop the whole person, alongside a framework of recognised accreditation which is appropriate to the level, needs and interest of the learners.
Courses are accredited learning opportunities for students in Key Stage 4 (usually 14-16 years old) who are excluded or at risk of exclusion from mainstream schools. Working in close partnership with schools to support young people during the week providing an informal and supportive learning environment from their city centre base, young people attend on set days from 9.30am-2.30pm depending on their course.
The AEP qualifications are offered through the awarding body NCFE, a leading national awarder of at the forefront of technical and vocational education for over 170 years. All courses have a range of qualifications to choose from including the option of GCSE equivalents from the Key Stage 4 performance tables through to Level 1 & 2 vocational certificates.
On the SoundLab course, learners work towards nationally recognised qualifications in Music Technology. The course is ideal for those wanting to learn song writing, DJing, production, sound engineering, explore becoming self-employed or those that want to study music at further education level.
SoundLab is aimed at learners interested in music recording, writing, production, sound design and even pulls in elements of music performance and developing audio for tv/ film. Learners that are serious about producing original audio material have the opportunity to gain membership to PPL and PRS for Music.
Five modules for the year are:
- Introduction to music technology and the music business
- The digital audio workstation (DAW)
- Musical elements, musical style and music technology
- Sound creation
- Multi-track recording
Each term PPL PRS will be involved with a project for SoundLab learners. The first term is around the music business with specific topics covered including:
- Introduction to music technology and the music business
- Roles and responsibilities
- Development of music technology
- Music business
- Marketing
- Promotion
- Selling and distributing music
Paul Snape, Interim Director from Pedestrian said of the partnership: “The impact that our AEP has on the young people who attend is often life changing and opens up opportunities for a successful music career. I really believe that having PPL PRS support our SoundLab course will enrich our young peoples’ experience, provide them with real life exposure to the music industry and enhance their learning experiences. I look forward to seeing how this partnership develops in the future.”
Greg Aiello, Commercial Director at PPL PRS commented: ‘The education and development of young people, particularly in the creative arts, has always been important to us as a business, so to be able to provide this support and work with Pedestrian to create this great qualification in Music Technology is really exciting. Our people here at PPL PRS have a wealth of knowledge and experience in the music industry and we are looking forward to working with the team at Pedestrian to support and educate those young people across Leicestershire who may benefit from more vocational learning.”
To keep up to date with all the latest news from PPL PRS follow their Facebook page. You can also find out more about Pedestrian at pedestrian.info.
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WEEKLY PLAYLIST
As BBC Radio 2 in the Park is just around the corner we’ve put together a special playlist to guide you through the line-up and get those party vibes going!
Have a listen and get in touch to tell us which tracks you’re loving.