The Barbican - and what it will mean to our younger performers, viewed from the perspective of one o

I've been very lucky to have made my hobby of writing and performing music a massive part of my life, to an extent where I have had the opportunity to play regularly in different cities at plenty of swish different venues. The Barbican has always been a venue I have aspired to play at. For Tang Hall SMART to have been asked to showcase all their wonderful different provisions, oozing with talent, creativity and expression – well this is an absolute dream!

We all know the impact that music can have on our lives, it makes us feel, say and do things which would otherwise be impossible to do without its backing. But what I'm most interested in is how it can impact on us socially, especially when we're young and still finding our way in the world. At Tang Hall SMART, we've been running club sessions for toddlers all the way up to the peak of the teen years for quite some time now, and over the next six weeks, our diverse club staff (myself, Graham, Joe and James) will be working with soloists and bands to refine their sets so that they can really showcase their talents. It's going to be quite intensive, but I have complete faith in the young people of York to show off exactly what they can do. And I know that they will flourish because each and every one of them is exceedingly talented in so many ways. To be able to showcase such raw talents on such a big stage is an incredible thing. I couldn't think of anything more rock n roll than that!

And as if that is not enough, for the first time we will be offering our teenagers the opportunity to record their own songs and then sell them at the gig, how cool is that!

If you want to see our awesome young people rock out and give it all they've got, then grab your ticket for the 11th November, hopefully see you there!