Leeds Beckett Festival Blog

We dedicate ourselves to ensuring a successful student experience, whilst also seeking to develop students personal and career skills. We achieve this through great relationships, exclusive opportunities and vast knowledge of specialist industries.

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As the weekend draws to a close, the three of us have been busy keeping you updated on social media of all thing festival. The Leeds Beckett volunteers have had an exciting weekend. Working closely with Festival Republic along with the public and thoroughly enjoying themselves at the same time.

Volunteering as the Leeds Beckett media team has been a great way to experience the festival from a different angle. Watching the different roles varying from; Backstage Assistant, Film Crew, Stage Crew and the Festival Republic media interns and let’s not forget our smiley HATs.

Having access to the guest area and the Press Tent has been an exciting way to experience the industry and meet with professional writers and photographers.

We hope we’ve satisfied all your media needs, and here’s until next year!

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I’ve really enjoyed myself this weekend. It’s been fun having to write quickly, on the spot for the Beckett media channels. It’s really going to help me in my career as I’m hoping to become a journalist for either a music magazine or in news. It’s also been cool hanging out with new people. Me Heather and Amy worked really well together and it would be great if we could work together again on a similar project!’ Sophie

'The experience has been a great one, especially the people and things I’ve been able to do at Leeds Festival. Being in the press tent, popping backstage and being creative with our ideas has been my favourite parts of the role. I may have mud half way up my boots and everywhere but thanks Leeds Beckett for another valuable opportunity. Until next year!’ Heather

'I've had such an amazing time at Leeds Festival and having the opportunity to do something I love whilst enjoying the festival makes me extremely grateful for being a Leeds Beckett Graduate.’ Amy

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Our DJ manager Luke is back for his 5th year at Leeds Festival with Beckett festival volunteers. Luke first volunteered as a campsite DJ in 2012, hyping up the campsites with a variation of jackin' house and bassline. Since his graduation in 2012, he has returned annually as a Leeds Beckett festival volunteer. In 2015 Luke received an email from Leeds Beckett University asking him to return in a management role, he excitedly told me that 'the experience had been so great so far, it would be rude not too!' and has returned to the management role for 2016. Luke emphasised that 'it's a great experience that boosts your confidence, specifically in the field you are working in and it's great for people who perhaps don't have the confidence to make the first steps, to go through Beckett'. Prior to his volunteering role in 2012, Luke had only been DJing for a month and Leeds Beckett gave him an unimaginable opportunity to expand in the industry. In 2014, Luke opened for Pendulum on the Radio 1 Dance Stage at Leeds Fest and he has described it as 'one of the best days of my life, thanks to Beckett!'. Luke has now gained contacts within the industry allowing him to further his career, and now he even runs a weekly radio show. 'In terms of people wanting to go to uni, I'd say Leeds Beckett is a great choice, due to the opportunities that they give their students. I highly recommend getting involved with the festival volunteers scheme. Beckett has so many connections within so many industries, easily displayed in this festival work' Luke

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We managed to catch our alumna photographer Selma, who is interning with Festival Republic here at Leeds Festival. Selma made an impression on Festival Republic whilst working as a Leeds Beckett volunteer at Latitude just a few weeks ago. Through this opportunity, presented to her by Leeds Beckett, Selma met a team of photographers and built a good relationship with them. After Latitude Festival Selma stayed in contact with them. "I was asked to send over my photos from the Festival and a few weeks later I got an email asking me if I would like to be an intern at Leeds Festival! Obviously I could not pass up this great opportunity to photograph bands as well as shadow photographers! Leeds Beckett gave me the chance to get involved with Festival Republic. Without Leeds Beckett I wouldn't have met the Festival Republic team and I wouldn't be photographing at Festivals. Also here at Leeds Festival I've met everyone from Jack Daniels as well, so my contacts are growing." Make sure you keep an eye out for Selmas photographs on the festival website!

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Our Festival Republic film crew are busy today, carrying out more interviews and filming on the BBC Introducing Stage! After an action packed first night both interviewing and filming the likes of Freak, Black Waters and The Wychtes, the crew were excited for what today had to offer. This afternoon we caught up with Catherine, in charge of sound, and Faye the researcher who’s been devising interview questions, as well as Aaron who’s been involved in filming! This gang are loving the experience and have interviewed Mobeck this afternoon. Faye and Catherine have been hanging around in the Green Room, making the most of the backstage area for BBC Introducing. Getting to know people and grabbing all the contacts that they can!

“Leeds Beckett has given us a good opportunity to create contacts. I’ve got three or four bands I can speak to if I want to get into the industry. We’ve also been speaking to a man named Allen who works directly for BBC on the radio as well as at festivals which is great!” said Catherine

Faye added “This has given me the confidence to talk to people within both the music and the media scenes and all the bands have been proper sound!”

“It’s amazing to be able to collaborate with aspiring artists, whilst fulfilling my own aspirations at the same time” Aaron

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Today we’ve met Alex, our Backstage Support Assistant working on the Alternative Stage. Helping all sorts of acts ranging from comedians to DJs! Alex is loving his time at Leeds Festival so far. After speaking with him it became clear that prior to his arrival, he wasn’t fully aware that his role would involve so much responsibility, entailing many tasks; ‘I thought it would be basic helping in a backstage room. But it’s been exciting. I got driven through torrential rain on a buggy to get someone food for the artist! I’m really looking forward to the rest of the weekend and meeting some big artists playing the stage.’

Alex emphasised the importance of time management within his role and the motivation and charisma needed to get fully immersed in this amazing opportunity

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Leeds Festival 2016

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We’ve just got to the end of a busy first day. The weekend has kicked off and despite the infamous festival weather, the Leeds Beckett crew are out in full force having fun!

We’re here with first timers, as well as alumni such as Luke; our campsite DJ manager, who’s with Leeds Beckett festival volunteers for his fifth year running. We’ll be hearing more from Luke throughout the weekend about his experiences over the years, such as opening the Radio 1 Dance Stage for Pendulum in 2014, and what he’s got planned for this year! We’ll also be catching up with a current student who volunteered with us at Latitude and is working at Leeds with Festival Republic, as well as the Beckett Film Crew!

For now we’re keeping dry with ponchos, provided to us by our lovely Leeds Beckett staff and we’ll brave the rain for some fun tonight, grooving with our Leeds Beckett campsite DJs!

Keep checking the blog for updates of the action throughout the weekend!

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Applications for Latitude and Leeds Festival 2016 are OPEN!

Our University’s partnership with Festival Republic is now in its 9th year and will be bigger and better than ever.

Through the partnership, over 1,300 students have gained valuable volunteering experience at the country’s premier music events, with a few even securing permanent employment. This year we have over 220 volunteer places on offer at Latitude and Leeds Festivals with roles ranging from Interns who will spend five weeks on the Festival sites to Helpful Arena Crew, Film Crew, Stage Crew, Artist Liaison and DJs who will volunteer for the Festival week only. 

A change this year sees us asking student applicants to provide their course tutors as a referee to their application. This will help us to promote these employability opportunity’s, incorporate this as a university wide project and further develop our students’ academic experience. Having already started our annual Festival volunteer recruitment process we are again opening these opportunities up to students, staff and alumni (up to 5 years after graduating).

If successful our volunteers will find themselves in a fast paced, exciting and unique music venue where they’ll work alongside experts in their field, develop their employability skills, meet new people and have an unforgettable experience. 

Whatever role takes your fancy, you’ll get all sorts of benefits: a Crew pass, staff camping facilities, Crew catering access and time off to enjoy the Festival to see an amazing line-up.

For more information and to apply, please visit; www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/partnershipvolunteering.  

Applications, which we will be managing through My Hub for the first time, are open up until 8 April 2016.

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Farewell Leeds Festival!

As summer draws to a close, so too does the festival season. This year over 250 Leeds Beckett University volunteers attended Latitude Festival and Leeds Festival, in partnership with Festival Republic.

We really enjoyed this fantastic experience, and our volunteers gained experience across various festival roles whilst improving their employability and enhancing their CVs.

-BBC Introducing Stage Interns setting up at Leeds Festival.

We are reviewing the feedback from Leeds Festival, following our overwhelmingly positive response from Latitude. Here’s what just a few of our volunteers had to say about the valuable experience they have gained in an industry which is notoriously difficult to break into:

“I was given full access within the arena, and this freedom, balanced with the photography briefs I was given was wonderful – I have now made strong networks with industry professionals and other student volunteers” Leeds Beckett Photography Intern, Leeds Festival.

“Working directly with Festival Republic and Zeitgeist Media Team allowed me to meet industry employers and further the skills I had learnt during my course at university and put them into practice in a working environment” Leeds Beckett Media Intern, Leeds Festival.

-Our volunteers enjoying early access to the arena

We’d like to thank you all for the hard work and commitment displayed during both Latitude and Leeds Festivals.

With a combination of live music, personal development and professional networking opportunities, we hope you all enjoyed being part of this unique opportunity with us.  

The Employability Partnerships Team

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From Connor and I here on the blog and social channels and all the other volunteers at Leeds Festival 2015, it’s over and out from us!

We’ve had an amazing time at Leeds Festival this year, between us we have been involved in so many different and exciting opportunities, we have had the chance to develop our skills in real life situations and I’m sure many of us will be returning to the festivals in 2016. 

We hope you have enjoyed our updates from the festival, for more information on Employability Partnership’s see our Leeds Beckett website: http://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/partnershipvolunteering/ and be sure to see some more of our photo’s on our Twitter and Instagram - @festvolunteers.

For more of Connor’s awesome photography check out his website - www.conjgrif.com and for my PR blog, it’s www.michaellabiscomb.co.uk!

Thanks for having us and we look forward to seeing more of you getting involved next year!

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Joe Taylor is the Alumni and Partners Marketing Officer at Leeds Beckett University and helps to run the Employability Partnership with Festival Republic! We caught up with him on the last day to find out his thoughts on Leeds Festival 2015!

How has this years Leeds Festival gone?

It’s been great - a few teething problems as there are every year, but we managed to get those sorted and the HAT’s fully trained and on shift. All the interns have been brilliant!

Has there been any interns that have worked particularly well this year?

The BBC Introducing stage interns have had various good reports, especially from Pulled Apart by Horses - their tour manager actually text the stage supervisor to thank the stage crew for all their hard work!

What skills do you think the students have developed from volunteering at Leeds Festival?

With the HATS, students get valuable customer service and communication skills, dealing with hard situations and thinking on their feet to problem solve. They can use this experience to enhance their CV and increase their employability. 

What’s been your favourite work and personal moments of Leeds Festival 2015?

There has been so many! But one tat stands out is seeing our film editor Philomena’s face when she saw the footage of Bastille that her film crew had got. She was really excited to work with it! 

And finally, why should students get involved with the Employability Partnership?

Any kind of volunteering or work experience can only add to your CV and increase your chances of getting that dream job. It shows that you are willing to go that extra mile, and you have that bit more determination to succeed. This will to make you stand out in interviews against other candidates with a similar degree.

On behalf of all the students volunteering at Leeds Festival 2015, we’d like to say a huge THANKS to Joe and the team for all their hard work that they put into organising and managing the Festival Republic Employability Partnership.  They have provided endless support prior to and during the festival. 

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Josh Moore - Artist Liaison 

Josh has recently graduated in Managing Cultural & Media Events and is here on the Alternative Stage as an Artist Liaison Intern.

What does your job role entail?

I’ve been setting up dressing rooms and being the first point of contact for when artists arrive, making sure they have everything they need and showing them to the stage.

What kind of skills have you developed during your internship?

Time Management skills definitely, working with challenging people and adhering to specific needs and ways of working! I’ve also spoke to a few different people in the industry and managed to build some contacts!

What’s the plan now you have graduated?

I’m moving to Australia next year to do some travelling, but ultimately I would love to arrange my own music festival!

Favourite festival moment from this year?

The Maccabees and Jamie T were really good! I also looked after Gary Powell, the drummer from The Libertines, back stage!

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Leeds Festival HATS 2015

Our HAT’s have been great this year and it was fab to see so many get involved with the 80′s fancy dress theme today!

They are the eyes and ears of Leeds Festival and we thought we’d check in with them today and find out what they’re weirdest questions, favourite moments and best festival tips are!

“Do crabs look up at fish and think they can fly?”

“My advice is.. Bring More Glitter!”

“Are my eyebrows ok?!”

Definitely party harder at the end - NOT at the beginning!

“How many people does it take to push over a rock at stonehenge?”

Bring lip balm - you need it when you’re outside in the sun all day talking to people!

“My favourite moment was getting to see Mumford & Sons, they were Amazing!”

“Can you french plait my hair for me?”

Bring layers - you will need them on a night! And bring clothes for all seasons.. shorts, jumpers, jeans, dresses!

“I loved Panic! at the Disco, they were awesome”

“What’s the meaning of life?”

Definitely bring an air bed - a camping mat doesn’t cut it!

“Can you recount Pi to 10 numbers?”

“My favourite thing has being able to see all these bands for FREE!”

Don’t expect to look good.

“Are you information?” - yeah - “Nice to meet you!”

“I’ve loved being immersed in the festival - it’s such a nice atmosphere and it been enjoyable whilst also being productive!”

Bring a BIG tent “How do starfish mate on the sea bed?”

Don’t bring as much food, but do bring bottled water and carry it with you at all times! “What’s the longest type of grass?”

Expect to spend money - food and drink is expensive in the area - but remember you do get food tokens for the staff catering

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Reece McConachie - Leeds Beckett Campsite Manager

This is Reece’s fifth year of festivals, he has gone from HAT, to HAT Leader and Manager and now onto Campsite Manager. He graduated in Sports and Exercise Therapy last year and currently works as a sports therapist and gym instructor. 

What do you have to do as a Campsite Manager?

During the day there is always someone on site to make sure everyone’s okay and there’s no problems, be it first aid or general security on site. We all have radios to communicate and it’s good to have someone on site all the time to help with emergencies such as theft. flooding and tent collapses. 

What kind of skills have you developed as a Campsite manager and can students in general develop?

I have definitely learnt management skills which I have been able to apply to a management training course at work. A lot of the students from previous years are now here doing paid work through Festival Republic so students should be practising their networking and thinking about how they can further themselves whilst they are here, you never know who you might get talking to.

Why do you keep retuning to volunteer with Leeds Beckett?

I really enjoy working festivals. I think you get to see more of the festival and appreciate what goes on behind the scenes when you are working rather than when you’re just a paying customer. 

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Alice Burge - Artist Liaison Intern (BBC Introducing Stage)

Alice recently graduated with a degree in Politics from Leeds Beckett University. She has volunteered as a HAT before and this year is an Artist Liaison Intern. We caught up with her on her last day to find out about her experience of the festival.

Tell us about your role at the festival...

I’m an Artist Liason for the BBC Introducing Stage, so i’m looking after artists, making sure they’re happy, they get to the stage on time, they’re well fed and watered! Just keeping them happy so that they can get on stage, play on time and everyone’s happy!

Which bands have you been working with this year?

Pulled Apart by Horses were here on Thursday and that was pretty cool, we had Carnabells, a band called Vitamin - they played on Thursday and they’ve come back to do another set with us today. They’re pretty awesome, they’re really nice guys. There’s quite a few good bands, we had Returning to Rome yesterday - they were pretty awesome, they were absolutely sweethearts playing heavy metal!

What are you gaining from volunteering this year?

Working with the supervisor, Nic, she knows a lot of people in the music scene in Leeds so hopefully I can pick up some tips from her, I kinda wanna go and do some marketing after this, maybe some marketing courses back at college, so I’m hoping I can get some promotional tips from everyone that’s coming in, from backstage, tips from even the bands themselves who are saying we need to get this stuff out there! 

What’s been your favourite festival moment so far?

Well we just took a really awesome squad photo on the stage so we were all just standing on stage! I don’t actually have on stage access so we got to go on stage and it’s a nice spot from there, you can see a lot! It’s just been cool, I can’t just pin point one moment, i’m just having a really nice time relaxing and chilling with artists!

Would you recommend other students getting involved?

I’d definitely recommend it, even if you just start off being a HAT, I’ve been a HAT for two years before and I got an intern role this year and its really weird seeing the difference between a HAT role and an intern.  I recommend doing it to everyone, don’t be scared if you don’t think you have the skills, try it - even if you don’t get it or don’t really like it, you’ll find out what you do like and what you don’t!

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Connor spent some time with the Film crew yesterday as they were busy capturing footage are the festival. Three films are being produced at Leeds Festival this year, one along the theme of Coming of Age at a festival, a film about the volunteers and another film about the festival for Festival Republic.

We can’t wait to share them with you when the team have finished filming and editing. 

Photography: Connor Griffin (conjgrif.com)

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Jasmin Hall - Artist Liaison Intern (Alternative Stage)

Jasmin had just graduated with a degree in Psychology from Leeds Beckett University. She has volunteered several times at festivals through the Employability Partnership and this year she is working as Artist Liaison at the Alternative Stage. 

What do you have to do as an Artist Liaison?

Yesterday I was working with Chris Ramsey, I had to prep his dressing room and make sure he was okay when he arrived. In general, we have to keep acts happy, doing food runs, dealing with requests and just generally chatting and being a nice human. 

How beneficial is volunteering for your employability skills?

I think the most important thing is making contacts, you’re working with people in the industry all day who have got a lot of experience and know a lot of people and opportunities. It’s also good because learn how to be professional when you meet famous acts and plus it’s good for your CV, innit! 

What would you like to do now you’ve graduated?

I’m not sure which industry I would like to go into so I’m busy getting work experience in different sectors to find what I like the most. I’ve got experience and I’m interested in Theatre, which is why I chose the Alternative Stage where I could make the most relevant contacts.

Fave Festival Moment?

It was my managers birthday yesterday and we bought her a surprise cake and we were all in the greenroom with Chris Ramsey, Matt Richardson and a couple of other famous comedians and we were all singing Happy Birthday!

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Elliot Campbell

Broadcast Media Technologies student Elliot, is responsible for the camera work at Leeds Festival. He tells us about the film he’s working on and his favourite festival moment so far...

What are you working on at the festival?

We’re doing a film that focuses on the volunteering at the festival, so the people who are involved in filming, working as HATS, the photographers and those working on the stages and helping with backstage, set up and sound. 

What skills are you learning to enhance your employability?

Working to schedule on a real project is really good experience and hopefully this opportunity will help me in getting some paid work. I know some of the students that have done this role previously and now have jobs in the industry!

What does your future career look like?

I’m not quite sure, but I know I want to work in film. Either films or television, I just like the filming and editing and seeing my ideas come to fruition. 

Favourite Festival moment so far?

The first night with the BBQ when everyone is getting to know each other and being able to film backstage at the BBC Introducing stage!