The Glasshouse

5:30 pm

It’s a mild Thursday in February and I’m sitting upstairs on a double-decker heading towards Gateshead Interchange. Tonight, I’m going to the From the Glasshouse gig programmed by the Young Programmers group I’m part of. After a short walk from the bus station to The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, I make my way to the Northern Rock Foundation Hall where the Young Programmers are meeting.

6:00 pm

The meeting begins with a short icebreaker. Some of us have been Young Programmers for almost two years, but other members joined recently, so the opportunity to get to know one another is very helpful. In the icebreaker, we ask our partner questions like “What was your most memorable gig?” before sharing the information we learned with the group.

After that, our fantastic group leaders, Lucy Scott and Phil Davids take us through the schedule for the evening. First on the agenda is a short discussion about how we’d like to showcase the work of Young Programmers. There are a few suggestions, and we agree to share any further ideas after the meeting.

James, Daisy and Pippa are briefed on using The Glasshouse’s Instagram account so they can do a takeover on behalf of Young Programmers tonight. They share a little bit about why they became Young Programmers and showcase what we get up to in our monthly meetings.

6:45 pm

At this point, we split into two teams to work on programming two shows, one in June and one in September. Gathered around flipcharts and speakers, we begin shortlisting genres and artists we’re interested in bringing to The Glasshouse. We base our ideas on genres the venue as specific targets for in 2023/24, genres like soul, hip-hop, jazz and electronica/dance.

Once we gather our ideas, a spokesperson from each team gives feedback to the whole group. My team focus on potential artists to approach while the other team homes in on their preferred genre. Lucy and Phil encourage us to keep in touch with each other between sessions to narrow down our choices even more.

7:15 pm

We approach the end of the session, but there’s one more exciting discussion still to be made.

Phil presents several pathways where we could tailor our experience as Young Programmers to our specific interests. I choose to participate in the music education and programming sessions, but there are many other options, including classical music, artist development and technical pathways.

8:00 pm

Showtime! We take our seats in Sage Two to watch two brave Young Programmers, James and Cerys, open the From the Glasshouse show with a short introduction to the evening’s entertainment. First up are Cosial, who perform a wonderful setlist full of bedroom pop delights and even give the Young Programmers a shout-out!

Next, Black Moss take to the stage and delight us with soulful vocals and melodic guitars. Yaatri are the final act and treat us to jazzy guitar melodies and interesting rhythms overlayed by ethereal vocals.

Overall, it’s a fantastic evening, and I’m looking forward to our upcoming shows later in the year.  Watch this space!