Carl Gwynne
WORK EXPERIENCE THAT’S SHEER BLISS!
On July 2nd, 2010 the sleepy heat-haze of Hampshire’s mid-summer countryside was awoken to the shimmering thrill of one of the UK’s finest independent festivals. But did anyone notice Solent’s students working their hoodies off? Carl Gwynne takes a closer look.
"Blissfields is one of the best-kept secrets on the festival circuit. Sitting in the wilds of Hampshire down winding country roads and nestling between thatched cottages and dog kennels, this festival presents a vision of this area that is as far removed from banker’s belt rural Britain as is imaginable.
Yet it’s in this unlikely surrounding that the best little festival in Britain has been gently brewing for over ten years. And it’s at this festival that Southampton Solent University has been developing some it’s most significant festival link ups, with students operating in almost every area of the event production.
Dr Martin James, Course Leader of BA (Hons) Popular Music Journalism| and Senior Coordinator Solent Festivals explains: "Working at festivals like Blissfields is invaluable for students who get the chance to put what they learn in the classroom to test in a real life situation. Here, in the real world, they literally live and die by the sword!”
“Solent’s involvement with music festivals and any similar event allows students first hand experience of real time events moving in real time. This is unique thanks mainly to Blissfields’ growing collaboration with Solent.” Adds Solent University music lecturer and Blissfields Event Consultant Scott McCallister, “This year we have entered a new chapter as almost every aspect of running a festival has been engaged in, laying a clear ‘footprint’ by Solent students and lecturers.
“This is unprecedented at any other uni. All areas including programming, production, film and set up are vital for students’ knowledge experience and future developments in their own degrees.”
This year's Blissfields rung in the 10th anniversary with birthday songs for what has become known as Paul & Melanie Bliss' beautiful ‘garden party’, where the main stage was graced by the likes of Charlotte Hatherley, Stereo MCs, Laurel Collective and Imperial Leisure, as well as solid Blissfield veterans SubGiant. Meanwhile the second stage hosted future legends like Subsource and Lanterns on the Lake.
Behind the scenes however, another kind of talent was the star – this being the hard work provided by a large group of students from Southampton Solent University.
The backstage crew was made up of a large number students from various courses within the University's music programme. They provided that initial step of getting the artists through the gate, and all of the heavy lifting that, let's face it, most big names tend to avoid.
Other students worked on the second stage with some learning more about live sound engineering while others stage-managed the entire weekend in this tent. A task that our students excelled in.
Two of our students worked as artist liaison. Their purpose was much more important than just 'getting the teas in' though as, among other things, they provided that vitally controlled step to allow journalists like myself to arrange interviews with an artist appearing on stage.
Not forgetting the efforts of several students, myself included, from the Popular Music Journalism course that worked tirelessly on the entire project. Even before the first tent had been erected and most of the bands had confirmed that they would be playing.
A number of BA (Hons) Popular Music Journalism| students from the second year were commissioned to write, edit and design the festival programme and to put together a documentary of the entire goings on throughout the weekend. It was all a hell of a lot of fun but we learnt so much about the festival itself, but more importantly, about the practical processes involved in magazine and broadcast journalism production and even more about how to further achieve our aspiring roles as journalists in the music media.
What’s more, the work we produced as a team will now go forward to our final year assessments as a part of a collaborative unit. Obviously teamwork was one of the biggest aspects of the weekend as we not only worked with a production team, but also as a part of a wider festival crew. Experiencing the links between various festivals operations was invaluable. Even if the intensive hard work occasionally tested our tempers somewhat!
The opportunities presented to the students are a vital part of how to work well in this business and there were plenty of people we met and a lot of work put in to take full advantage of these opportunities. It was an excellent experience and completely unforgettable, and an added bonus was that the organisers of Blissfields were happy with our work… and so were our tutors!
"I have to say I was overjoyed at just how professional, resourceful and hard working the Solent crews working at Blissfields were. From programme production through to stage management and beyond. A credit to themselves and to Solent University." says Martin James.
I don't know about anyone else but I can be sure I'll be there to experience the festivals’ magical Hidden Hedge in 2011. We'll have an end-of-the-world party. Or at least we’ll drink to a bright future for the exciting partnership between Southampton Solent University and Blissfields."
By Carl Gwynne, BA (Hons) Popular Music Journalism|