Caolan Faux promoting ‘open mic’ night
Regular open mic nights in Enniskillen are giving local people the chance to share their talents in front of a willing audience.
The nights have been running on the last Tuesday of each month since January at ‘The Hangout’ at Quay Lane Enniskillen – and new opportunities for young people to development their skills in music are en route.
The open mic nights are open to all ages from 7.30pm to 10.30pm, and participants can include all types of performance – music, poetry, comedy. The next open mic night takes place on Tuesday March 25.
And, in partnership with ‘Youth Action’ locally, young people are being given the chance to take part in ‘The Big Music Project’, which offers specialist training and resources, opportunities to engage with music industry pros and priority access to high profile events.
“The last one we had about 30 people with the age range 14 – 22. There were seven or eight acts at the last one – it seems like Tuesday is the best day for it and it’ll be taking place the last Tuesday in each month,” explained Bernadette O’ Shea, project manager at FIND and The Hangout.
And senior youth facilitator Aoife Balfour added: “It’s to give them the platform to get started – to get a buzz and a hype and see how they feel. The only space people get to play is in the pubs and a lot of the time if they’re just starting out, then they might not be welcomed in bars.
“It’s encouraging the music scene with the younger groups, or those starting out.”
FIND is a ‘one-stop’ shop for health and well-being, and The Hangout is a centre for young people aged 11-18 to socialise. The centre has previously held the Irish Youth Music Awards.
Peer educator with Youth Action NI, in Fermanagh, Hannah McGale, who is leading the project along with fellow peer educator Caolan Faux, explained how the centre is to become a ‘Big Music Hub’.
“With having the community open mic night we felt that we could integrate the two together. We’re in the stage of recruiting 12 ‘Big Music’ champions. There are eight hubs around Northern Ireland, hopefully with the open mic nights we’ll find people who want to get involved.
“They don’t have to be just guitars and singing, they can be lighting, posters, front of house, back of house.”
The 12 local champions will take ownership and ‘drive’ the Fermanagh hub; make decisions and organise large-scale local music events, workshops and performances; avail of resources to improve the hub and opportunities for local young people; identify and take part in relevant professional music industry training; and avail of exclusive opportunities to engage with the music industry, successful artists, and industry experts.
For more information on the open mic nights, search ‘Enniskillen community open mic’ on Facebook, and or more information on ‘The Big Music Project’ contact caolan@youthaction.org, hannah@youthaction.org or call 028 66328534.