On Tuesday 4 June 2024 we visited the London College of Contemporary Music (LCCM) to showcase some of the young artists supported by our Awards programme. The evening highlighted the diversity of our Awards programme, with performances from blues, pop and electronic artists. It also provided an opportunity for the young musicians to share their stories with our supporters. All of this took place in The Music Box, the state-of-the-art performance venue located within the LCCM building.
LCCM is a purpose-built creative centre, opened in 2018 and located in the heart of London’s cultural Southbank. It was founded in 2002 by a group of professional musicians who decided to launch a college for contemporary popular music in the centre of London. The aim was to create a new approach to teaching music that mixed the best of the good universities and conservatories with an art school environment.
In 2023 we were fortunate to hold an Awards Day at the college! Guided by LCCM tutors, expert music industry professionals and Young Sounds Alumni, the event was an eclectic mix of workshops, engaging panel discussions and performance opportunities. You can read more about that here.
Astrid was one of 30 young musicians who attended the day and she was thrilled to return as a performer for our gig!.
Starting her musical journey on the Steelpans, Anäis’ love of music blossomed in secondary school. An enthusiastic music teacher at a careers workshop helped her overcome outside negative influences about pursuing music as a career. Anäis’ passion for songwriting developed from writing high-end emotions in her journal and being conscious of societal complexities. Determined to make her mark and realising that music is the only career path she wants to take, Anäis aims to use the influence she’s gained to speak about important world issues. Anäis is passionate about making her music relatable; telling stories to bring out the care and humanity in people.
A fantastic start to the evening, Anais showcased her stunning voice with powerful covers of Chris Stapleton’s ‘Tennesse Whiskey’ and Lana Del Ray’s ‘Norman F__ing Rockwell’ displaying a maturity beyond her years.
Rhys’ fascination with Blues began when his older sister bought him a guitar for his 12th birthday. Playing music is a lifeline for Rhys, who was diagnosed with Autism aged eight. Not only does it provide him with a means of communicating freely, music also provides the backdrop to his education. Being home educated, Rhys and his mother Alison found an untraditional teaching path that enabled Rhys to learn conventional subjects through his guitar and music.
Keeping a log of the work that he does through Instagram, Rhys has now attracted over 54,000 followers! Although he frequents jam sessions in the UK, opportunities for Rhys in this country are sparse. Seeking to further his knowledge and experience, Rhys was invited to watch the legendary American Blues guitarist, Buddy Guy in the US and has subsequently performed with him on stage! Influenced by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy and Jimi Hendrix, Rhys is a self- confessed ‘aggressive’ guitarist and often needs to find the means to repair his instrument! He now spends his free time learning about guitar repairs and is collecting the parts to build his own guitar.
Rhys was welcomed to the stage by his mother Alison who gave a passionate speech about his musical journey so far and how proud she is of the obstacles Rhys has overcome. We were then treated to a soulful rendition of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s ‘Lenny’ and a blistering original entitled rude mood.
On the evening Rhys says:
” I loved it! When I play live it’s usually with a band so playing completely alone was a good experience! This was a completely different type of event to the sort I’m used to. It was good to talk to the audience, which I’m not used to doing. Thank you so much, I really enjoying being part of this event!”
You can follow Rhys on Facebook and Instagram
Astrid gives much of the credit to her musical successes to her Gran – who introduced her to her eclectic record collection – her Mum, for giving her singing tips and recognising her talent – and her Dad, for helping her to produce her tracks. Self-taught Astrid shot to fame having been scouted at a local talent competition in Liverpool. Aged eight, she made her second ever public appearance in front of a 300-strong audience and idols will.i.am and Pixie Lott on The Voice Kids!
Astrid took to social media and her videos went viral attracting over 300k likes a time, and a special direct message from record label BMG who have now signed her as their youngest ever artist, recording an EP of her original songs.
Astrid has her feet firmly on the ground when it comes to her success and is concentrating on her GCSEs – art, music, drama and English being her favourite subjects, and she hopes to attend Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA). Astrid has made the most of the opportunities presented by our Awards Programme, attending Award Days at both LIPA and at LCCM.
Astrid performed three of her infectious originals displaying her gift as a lyricist, songwriter and performer! Accompanied by a backing track, recorded with equipment purchased via her Award, the songs explores young love and teenage angst. You can hear these tracks on her self-titled EP by clicking here.
On the evening Astrid says:
“The chance to meet with other musicians and take part really does improve your overall musicianship. Any opportunity to perform for an audience increases your confidence.”
You can follow Astrid on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Spotify
Stockport born Liam picked up his first set of mixing decks during lockdown. Having always dreamt of being a DJ and doubting that the make-believe Ayia Napa he created in his bedroom would ever come true, Liam is now well on his way to accomplishing his goals.
With no facilities or opportunities for DJ’ing at school, Liam opted to gain his qualifications at The Manchester College where he will graduate with a Level 3 Extended Diploma (the equivalent of three A levels) in Music. Through his college tutor and Manchester DJ legend Mark XTC, Liam got his first opportunity to play a DJ set with the community group and largest Sober event in the U.K. DryWave and was quickly signed as a resident DJ and mentored by Manchester MC/Rapper, promoter and Director of Drywave Ben SoS. Overcoming his lack of motivation and nerves, Liam now performs as a DJ for Drywave events, gigs and festivals which take him all over the UK with old-school legends such as 2Funky2, So Solid Crew, Ultrabeat and Sweet Female Attitude. When Liam isn’t on the decks, he writes and produces his own music and promotes his own young person’s event “SellOut”.
After a brief Q & A, Liam ran through an exhilarating twenty minute set of garage house, seamlessly transitioning between old school classics and the latest dance floor fillers. Projected behind him was a camera feed giving us a close up view of the tech wizadry happening on stage. Liam brought the audience to their feet to see out the evening.
You can follow Dawz on Facebook and Instagram
We’d like to thank all of the performers, their parents, Florian, Gabriel and all of the staff at LCCM, and of course our wonderful audience for supporting this gig.
If you are, or if you know, a young musician, aged 5-17, with bags of musical potential who could benefit from financial support and musical opportunities like this, Young Sounds UK could help! Visit youngsounds.org.uk/awards to find out more.
