2011 Projects: New Songs from Sandy Row
22 March 2011
The sound of music rang out across the streets of the Sandy Row area of Belfast on Tuesday 22 March 2011 when a group of young people took to the stage of the local community centre to showcase new songs and pieces of music they had created. A CD featuring these New Songs From Sandy Row was also launched at this unique event, which was attended by Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Pat Convery.
Between November 2010 and March 2011, groups of 8–18 year olds from Sandy Row worked with three professional musicians to create new pieces of music from and about their locale. Many of these young people had no experience of engaging with music prior to their participation in this Belfast City Council funded initiative. However, through their involvement in a series of weekly workshops with musicians David Preston and Rohan Young (aka Scorpion Jack) plus Joel Murphy, they delved into a wide range of areas, including song-writing, performance, percussion and guitar and even visited the Lib Lab recording studio to lay down the tracks that formed the New Songs from Sandy Row CD.
Nearly fifty workshops took place as part of the New Songs from Sandy Row project and over one hundred participants got involved in the initiative. The project culminated in a CD launch and showcase performance to a large and enthusiastic audience in Sandy Row Community Centre as part of the 2010 Moving on Music Festival.
Speaking about the New Songs from Sandy Row CD, David Preston, one of the musicians involved in the initiative explained “These new songs from Sandy Row have come straight from the hearts of the young people of the area and look at everything from socializing to boxing – there’s even a Sandy Row rap, which I think is definitely a first!”.
New Songs from Sandy Row was funded through Belfast City Council’s Development and Outreach Initiative and facilitated by Moving on Music, in partnership with Sandy Row Community Forum, Sandy Row Residents Association and Belfast Education and Library Board’s Charter Youth Club.
Hear 'Sprint' from the New Songs from Sandy Row CD here
Hear 'Why' from the New Songs from Sandy Row CD here