WHILE Readipop Festival is mere days away, the charity behind the event is bringing new opportunities to young people in Reading all year round.
This year’s event will see the likes of Professor Green and Jungle Brothers take to the stage, but it will also feature emerging talent from Reading.
Young people supported by Readipop’s charity programs will be front and centre when Access All Areas highlights musicians from its regular sessions of the same name.
Executive director at Readipop Amy Hodder said ahead of the event: “Our youth program, AAA, will be represented at the Takeover on Saturday, and participants from our clubs and programs will be on the line-up throughout the weekend.
“In the past year alone, we’ve engaged 987 young people in a variety of referrals, development, and outreach sessions.
“Of our core attendees, 89% face barriers to participation, such as having special educational needs, being excluded from school, or being young offenders.
“So those kids that we deal with are some of the most disadvantaged in Reading.”
She explained: “The takeover sees attendees who have never got up on stage before and the festival gives them that opportunity.
“It brings them insurmountable confidence, and they come out of it on cloud nine from sharing their own original material with the world.
“They’ve been able to go away and say that they’ve played alongside Grandmaster Flash, and many come onto our in-house label, which enables marginalised artists to have more of a launchpad into the industry.”
“So we see that progression from the platform that we can give them and we see that it changes their lives.”
Harrison Screen, media curator and music leader at Readipop, has worked with Readipop for two years, and said that the charity “gives a lot of young people a chance to turn their lives around.
“Any kind of young person you can think of, we can help them out: we work in primary schools with things like samba workshops, one-on-one sessions with those that need it most, youth clubs; everything.”
He said that the charity often often gives young people something to look forward to: “Many don’t feel committed to anything, but they are committed coming to us.
“They can feel forgotten about and don’t have anywhere to go where they can be accepted for who they are, which we provide.
“The music is important, but it’s secondary to helping them out and making them feel accepted, letting them express themselves and their emotions.”
Readipop’s studio coordinator and fellow music leader said that Readipop’s outreach programs give young people a level of autonomy.
“We really let them take the reigns, but we’re there to guide them, not as teachers or anything, so they set their own goals and have that freedom.
“I did work experience during the festival a few years ago, and came back to the charity after university, and have been a studio coordinator with them for two years now.”
Mr Screen also added: “We’ve got sessions right up until the festival, and once it’s over we still don’t stop; we’ll be working straight after with our usual sessions.”
Full details of youth programs provided by Readipop are available via: readipop.co.uk
This year’s Readipop Festival takes place from Friday-Sunday, July 14-16.
The festival raises vital funds for the charity’s work year-round, and tickets are available via: readipop.gigantic.com
