Winsford's own rock school returns to showcase yet more teen talent

Youth music service, Edsential, together with the Hive Music Centre, saw six young bands and duos putting on a fantastic day of live music on Saturday, March 23, dubbed Live@The Hive Two.

Edsential runs free workshops and tuition sessions on Thursdays and Saturdays for 13 to 16-year-olds, which cover all aspects of playing in a band including instrument lessons, song writing, stage management, effective communication, and even dealing with pre-performance nerves.

Live@The Hive 2 was a chance to showcase their new skills in front of a live audience, under the lights of a real music venue.

Pianist Jacob Evans during a sound test (Image: Newsquest)

The event, which kicked off at 2pm, featured bands Solitude, Pretty Enough, Volt 111, The Voke, and duets Rio and Bobby, and Jacob and Chloe.

The event also featured a performance by up-and-coming Winsford star, Sam Lyon, who’s getting ready to release her debut album this year.

Live@ The Hive soundman, Nathaniel Westwell, has been learning his craft from an industry pro (Image: Newsquest)

The programme’s leaded tutor, Jake Barnabas, who’s a drummer and multi-instrumentalist with the band Luka State, said: “We’re trying to retain a core set of bands who come to our sessions, so for them, this is their second gig. It’s a massive celebration.

“It’s brilliant to see how far they’ve come even since December when we did this last. Their progress has been incredible.

(L to R): Solitude members Kayleigh Ledwards, Lillie Marshall, and Aimee Ashbrook (Image: Newsquest)

"It’s really interesting to see them going through a lot of the musical stresses and strains and growing pains I went through a few years ago.

“Next term, after Easter, we start song writing, with the goal in June of having two days in a recording studio. We’ll be using the one my band recorded its second album in.

Lead tutor, Jake Barnabas, with partner, Amelia Thompkinson, who also lends a hand (Image: Newsquest)

“After that, we’ll be getting more into the tech side, so the kids really understand what it’s like to be a musician.

“We haven’t decided what the get-off point is going to be yet, but we keep getting new people approaching us. We’ve got a waiting list now of people who want to get involved.

Family member of band Pretty Enough were there to lend support (Image: Newsquest)

“We’ve been doing a lot out outreach in schools, showing them what we get up to, and it’s really paid off.”

Edsential has funding for the project until next April, but it’s been such a success so far, they’re already looking for ways to extend the life of the programme.

Singing tutor, Olivia Westwood, who has been working with the bands, said: “This is a fantastic programme, and it makes me wish we had something like this when I was their age.

“We used to just practice in each other’s bedrooms after school, and we didn’t have very much in the way of guidance.

“These kids have a much better understand of it’s really like to be involved in the music industry.”