The Young Musicians Project, from We Make Culture, has steadily grown to become one of Sunderland’s most popular and prolific music groups, with young local talent of an ever-growing pedigree already under their belt. Acts such as Plastic Glass and Faye Fantarrow first found their feet in this group, and have since gone on to sell out shows and tour the UK, as well as recently receiving high praise and airplay from BBC Introducing. We joined the first session at their brand new home, Pop Recs Ltd on High Street West, to hear what the group was all about from the young people that go every week!

17 year old singer-songwriter Sara, who we caught up with in the mini studio set up upstairs in the venue, had this to say about the importance of the Young Musicians Project to her:

“It’s a great creative outlet, you get to work on songs with other people and just have fun. I come back every week because I enjoy it, you make progress with the songs you write every week and you enjoy working with other people, taking ideas from everybody and continuing to progress.”

The project was founded by We Make Culture‘s, Laura Brewis, and she still attends and co-runs the group alongside Natasha Haws, Beccy Young and Marty Longstaff (The Lake Poets). Here is what she had to say:

“Young Musician’s Project is important because, as stupid and simple as it may sound, it gives people a place to come where they can meet other musicians. You can receive support not only from professional musicians, but also other young musicians and find out how to collaborate. It’s a good thing to develop music skills, but it is also important to develop a creative community of young people who support each other. We also think it’s really important to be linked to a professional music venue in Pop Recs, where we can put on gigs and make the most of the space!”

There is a fantastic sense of community within this group, creating a very rare space for young people to share their most intimate feelings and creative thoughts without fear of judgement. The level of support from peers and group leaders alike is great to see, and the recent addition of the “Mental Health Check In” board just cements the opinion that this group always has the well being of young people at the forefront of its thinking.

The group remains completely FREE and shows no signs of slowing down, exactly the opposite in fact! If you, or a young person that you know aged 11-21, would like to give this group a try just turn up at Pop Recs on High Street West any Saturday from 11am till 1pm. If you’d like any more information please don’t hesitate to email laura@wemakeculture.co.uk with any questions or queeries!

Due to popular demand there is now a SECOND Young Musicians Project group, starting Wednesday 3rd of November, more below…