What is Big Team?

Big Team’s goal is to try and open up opportunities for young people in the city who have traditionally been excluded from the festival industry, starting with our own company and events – with a long term goal to make our events more inclusive spaces by diversifying groups who create, contribute to and attend them.

We aim to open up the sector to young people (primarily aged 16 – 24) who would usually face social or economic barriers to access, and address issues of underrepresentation in the sector’s workforce and audiences.

Apply for Next Level

Are you a singer, rapper or MC ready to take it to the NEXT LEVEL? Next Level is BACK for 2023.

Bristol’s 18-30 Artist Development Programme

This paid opportunity offers the chance for aspiring artists to expand their skills and develop their abilities with help from some of the best in the business.

Specifically aimed at emerging singers, rappers and MC’s, this is for those who already have some live performance and recording experience and want to take their careers to the NEXT LEVEL.

 

Co-produced by Big Team & Bristol Beacon, successful applicants will take part in a creative week of workshops at Pirate Studios with professional producers and vocalists including Sam Interface, N.Y.T.A, Fiyahdred, Eva Lazarus, Dread MC and Res One. During the studio sessions there will be the chance for artists to present demos, write new material, collaborate through co-writing and rehearse.

The Next Level crew will then take part in an industry day, featuring specially curated workshops hosted by Bristol heavyweights Team Love, Boomtown Festival and Hey? What! These workshops will be focused around navigating and promoting themselves as artists in the music industry – and who better to learn from than some of the biggest names in events and the creative industries.

We will round off the programme with a live showcase at Bristol Beacon, featuring their projects from creative week, alongside a secret national headliner and in front of a live audience and invited industry professionals – including festival bookers, artist managers, and festival organisers.

Not only that, but this year, all six acts will be offered a set at Love Saves The Day Festival 2023.

This project has been specially designed to help support emerging artists’ creative and professional development while building their relationship with the music industry by placing them into professional environments which will build confidence and enhance their writing, recording, performance, and promotional skills.

 

With guidance from well-established artists who are already experienced in the industry, and a number of active organisations in the local music scene, the hope is that together we can support the next generation of Bristol artists to take their careers to the NEXT LEVEL.

Application Form

The Big Team Story

We established Big Team CIC in March 2019 to a large extent as a response to a growing realisation of the inherent but unintentional “exclusivity” of both our company and the industry as a whole. The networks developed by us and other like minded companies within our “progressive” field have ended up being as difficult to penetrate as more traditional industries commonly viewed as elitist.

Whilst aware that tackling the wider systemic issues is beyond our reach, after reflection we felt that, actually, we could do something at a hyper localised level to start to address our own lack of representation, to offer some actual entry points into both our company and others within our network and have some small but tangible results and Big Team was founded to deliver projects for positive social change.

Big Team Projects

The Summer Placement Scheme – Big Team’s Summer Placement Scheme facilitates young people to gain paid experience within the music festival sector. A range of companies involved in different areas of festival production are supported to host placements and by doing so benefit from a broadening of their team to include new, dynamic members. The young people gain direct industry experience whilst widening their networks.

St Paul’s Adventure Playground Fundraiser – Big Team worked with The Adventure Playground, ACE and Team Love to develop a project aimed at celebrating the city’s music scene whilst raising vital funds for the playground and giving young people valuable work experience. In September 2019 over 1000 people attended an all-day event at the Playground and over £18,000 was raised.

Collaborators

  • Babbasa
  • ACE
  • Bristol Festivals
  • St Paul’s Carnival
  • St Paul’s Adventure Playground
  • Plaster
  • Bristol 24/7

Get in Contact

Big Team is all about working together. If you would like to get involved, collaborate or just find out more about what we do then get in touch. Email: [email protected]

We at Big Team gratefully acknowledge support from:

PRS Foundation