Belfast is set to host the first of many networking nights for Northern Ireland's music industry later this month.
Hosted at Laverys on April 24th, it will see musicians, singers, artists, songwriters, producers, DJs, videographers, influencers, agents, presenters, recording studios, publishers, managers and record labels meeting under one roof for a night of music, entertainment and making those all-important contacts.
With key speakers and the best of the best performances on the night from Rhea Melvin, Lexus Monroe and Gary Duffy, this will be a music event you won't want to miss if you're seeking a career in the industry.
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According to Belfast singer Jessica Hammond, who is organising the event, plans are afoot to make this a recurring event.
Jessica, 29, started her own music career at 14, playing alongside Demi Lovato as a finalist on My Camp Rock, the Disney channel’s UK talent search.
Then, at 17, she was the youngest contestant on the first series of The Voice, advancing to the battle rounds as a member of Jessie J’s team.
She has gone on to work with some of the best producers and Grammy award-winning writers including Amy Wadge (Thinking Out Loud/Ed Sheeran) and Ollie Jacobs (The Saturdays).
The former Ashfield Girls High School pupil is also a highly skilled producer in her own right, having qualified as a sound engineer and working as a vocal coach.
Jessica self-produces all of her own releases alongside her long-time collaborator and co-producer Matty Graham from their base at Black Studios in Dundonald, as well as working with other artists, including TV stars and radio presenters.
Last summer, she penned and produced the catchy Girl Got Game official anthem especially for Northern Ireland's Green and White Army in the Euros after being approached by the Irish Football Association about creating the song for the women's team.
Jessica explained: "This is one of the first networking nights in Northern Ireland for musicians to help them get back on their feet after Covid by bringing in some of the bigger A&Rs, management companies, booking agents and radio pluggers and giving artists as much as exposure as we can
"I know from running a studio business for years that so many musicians have just given up and have had to find other careers. The music industry here is definitely on its knees at the minute and so we're really trying our best to get it back up and running again.
"We've noticed a big dip in the number of clients coming through the studio doors to record their own original music because they don't have the budget.
"Once the songs are written, they don't have the contacts either to get them in front of labels so our goal here is to grow this to become a massive event."
Jessica added: "I know of so many musicians looking for guitar players to gig with and others looking to get in touch with A&Rs and a manager behind them or booking agents for gigs.
"We've already got 300 tickets gone for our first event later this month and want to grow from there to get thousands of people coming together every couple of months and push themselves to get out there and get networking.
"We want to educate musicians as well and at the next event we hope to bring over some key speakers from the industry."
This event will be the first of many and if you would like to sponsor the next event please get in touch with Jessica at Black-studios@outlook.com. Tickets are available here.
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