For Antiquity, a band who play together at Sunday Band Club at The Bunker, music is about more than playing together. Through The Key to Find Your Spark, they decided to take their passion for playing music further by organising Anchorfest, a mini festival at Ship Isis that would bring local bands together and raise money for charity.
The group rehearses every Sunday morning and keeps in touch throughout the week through a WhatsApp group. For their stage 1 Find Your Spark project, the group went to lots of different local gigs around the North East to make connections and discover new music acts. They wanted to use their £500 Stage 2 project to create something bigger than their regular rehearsals, working with local bands and industry professionals to gain experience of putting on a live event.
“The project is about bringing bands that we are aware of and have found out about [through our Stage 1 project] together and to be part of charitable things.”
The group chose to support Soup Kitchen and RNLI, combining their love of music with a chance to raise money for causes that matter to them. Their project involved hiring a sound engineer and a photographer, as well as creating merchandise. In total, they raised £480.
When asked why they chose this idea and to do Anchorfest, they said: “We just love playing.”
And “it’s always sea related with us one way or another.” They then spoke about how many songs they had to do with the sea!
But the festival was about more than their own performance. The group also wanted to create opportunities for newer artists who had never played a gig before.
They explained that they were still relatively new to performing themselves, with their drummer having only played for eight or nine months. Having the chance to develop their own skills made them keen to offer that same experience to others.
“We’ve not been doing this long; our drummer has only been doing it eight or nine months. So, we want to give that help to other people.”
Organising a festival brought its own challenges. Bands cancelled and scheduling conflicts meant two acts had to be removed from the line-up. Communicating those changes was difficult, but the group had to work through the situation and keep the event moving forward: “Due to scheduling it’s been hard to tell some of the acts they are off the set with the line-up and stuff. It’s just scheduling conflicts.”
Managing these unexpected situations gave the group the chance to develop skills they might not have anticipated. One member discovered a new enjoyment in taking responsibility: “How much I enjoy being in charge actually, a new enjoyment in taking responsibility.”
Another said: “Dealing with stressful situations.”
They also gained experience in creating merchandise: “Merch making as well, I’ve never got to do that.”
Through planning and delivering Anchorfest, the group began to recognise just how much they could achieve with the resources available to them. One member reflect: “I think we’ve done a lot more than we could expect that we could’ve done with £500.”
For another, the experience helped confirm how much they want to continue with music: “Just realising how much I enjoy this as well, it’s class. I can’t wait to do it again, whether it’s a gig or a festival.”
Their ambitions haven’t stopped with Anchorfest either. The group are already thinking about what they could do with their £1,000 project and they also have an EP coming soon!
Looking back, Anchorfest has given the group the chance to take the lead, manage a budget, work with other artists and respond to challenges – all while raising money for charity and creating opportunities for new performers. It has helped them recognise their own abilities and imagine what they could do next.
Their advice to others is simple: “If you see any bands playing, go and support them!”
About the author
The Key