Musicians, vocalists and songwriters of school age working in all genres of music across the local community will be invited to perform live in front of an audience for perhaps the first time. This will provide valuable experience and opportunity for the young performers and an enjoyable and heartwarming event for the community. My team and I will use our experience of events management and working with young performers and audiences to create a safe, encouraging, and (crucially) non-competitive performance environment. As well as setting up and promoting the events we will be providing mentoring support in advance to potential performers where it is required and I will play the role of master of ceremonies and accompanist (where required) on the day. I will liase with local schools’ music departments, West Sussex Music, Northbrook MET feeder courses in my search for participants. I will use my extensive local network to recruit participants and supporters.

What we'll deliver:

• Regular pop-up open mic event for young musical performers

Why it's a great idea:

Young people making music require an outlet for their talents - something to work towards. Songs Alive will provide the opportunity for all-comers to perform in front of an audience. This will give them motivation, confidence and an understanding of the areas in which they need to improve. An open-mic is the perfect platform for budding performers to try out their performance skills in public, test the reaction of an audience and decide for themselves where to go from here.

Steps to get it done:

• Purchase of equipment required for first open mic event 27th August

The first of these events is taking place on Worthing Promenade at East Beach Studios on 27th August as part of Creative Waves’ ‘Pop Up On The Prom’ series of events this summer (please see current flyer attached - to be updated in the event of a successful CIF application). The winter event will take place in January or February, hopefully in St Paul’s. I require funds in the first instance for equipment, marketing and insurance, in order that the enterprise can be self-sufficient moving forward. I plan to expand the project to other towns across the county and beyond.