Bristol Beacon: Talent Development Partner 2020
Bristol Beacon, the South-West’s largest concert hall, formerly known as Colston Hall, announced its new name in September 2020 and has been part of Bristol’s cultural history for 150-years, hosting some of the world’s greatest musicians. Today, Bristol Beacon is one of two venue-based Music Education Hubs in the UK, offering a diverse programme of music for all and an award-winning Creative Learning & Engagement programme which includes music education, community outreach, a mentoring scheme and a talent development programme which showcases hundreds of emerging musicians each year.
We create unity and joy through live music, believing in its power to break down barriers. We offer diverse programme of concerts and festivals whilst supporting life-long musical journeys from school to stage to inspire wellbeing and future musicians. Bristol Beacon is currently undergoing a capital transformation to become a world-class, fully-inclusive, and accessible venue. Through our artist development programme we support new music creators through live performance opportunities in our year round roaming programme of gigs promoted at local venues, our annual Bristol Takeover Festival championing local emerging artists and our Multi-Track showcase of young artists aged 18-25.
‘In spite of the pandemic and our team being furloughed at different times since April 2020, we have been working hard to showcase the work of new music creators whilst keeping our organisation on track. The impact of Covid-19 on live music and music creators has never been far from our thoughts during this difficult time when they have needed our support more than ever. We’ve felt very reassured by PRSF’s response to this crisis and their approval of a number of changes to our artist development programme has meant we have been able to adapt to limitations whilst still ensuring that our 20/21 TDP goals were fully realised.’