You may have seen Made With Music’s live “Mini Gigs” advertised over the past year and wondered what they are and who they’re for. We certainly have! So we sent guest reviewer and local Mum of two boys Laura along to the latest gig at the Brudnell Club in Leeds to find out more….
Made With Music is a charity who deliver music education through live music in and around Leeds. They’re passionate about introducing music, particularly live music, to groups who may not have had the opportunity before. That includes young children and children with additional needs.
How many times since having kids have you wished you could still go out to a gig, or hoped that one day they’ll share your taste in music? That’s exactly why Made With Music have created their Mini Gigs. Accessible, family friendly live music, so you can all share your hobby together.
This month’s gig funded by Leeds Inspired was at the Brudnell Social Club, somewhere we’ve seen lots of live bands but never really thought about taking the kids. It started at 12.30 and ran until 3.00pm, which felt like a weird time to be going to a gig, but actually worked.
The stage was in the Brudenell’s community room, which offered all the atmosphere of an evening gig with enough space for kids to roam and dance around freely. There were some lighting effects to create the mood of a real gig, but nothing too bright or fast changing. They also had loads of cushions and mats out across the floor in front of the stage which made the space feel lovely and relaxed nature. Most people were sitting on the floor, which reminded me of being at a festival!
There were three acts performing; Park Fires, the experimental string duo Täpp and a Neo Funk outfit called Happy Daggers! Each act did roughly a 20 minute set. Their sound was slightly amplified to ensure everyone could hear over the noise of the children but was a lot lower than a standard gig.
I was really pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the acts themselves. I thought they might be a bit ‘childish’ or cheesy given it was a family friendly gig but I’d actually pay to see them all at a proper full gig. Two were particularly upbeat which really appealed to the kids. The third was more chilled out and was absolutely lovely, but felt a bit more for the adults.
The best bit for me though was that at the end of each set the kids were able to join the bands near the stage, to find out more about the instruments, chat to the members and ask questions. All the kids seemed to really enjoy this part, especially the slightly older ones who were really into their music. At two hours in total the gig felt the perfect length of time for both children and their parents.
In addition to watching the bands, there was also an easily accessible bar at the venue (no long queues) and ‘Cafe 21’ were running a cafe and cake stall which was another welcome touch as it kept my toddler very happy! There was a Craft Area being run by Meraki Creative Hub and a mixing desk which quite a few older children were having a go on. There were families with a mixture of age groups there – from babies through to school age. The older children seemed to be getting the most out of it in terms of the music but the younger ones were definitely enjoying dancing along.
Overall I think Mini Gig is a fantastic concept and it was really well executed. It was nice to go to a ‘cool’ child friendly event for once that had something in it for the adults too. I’m really looking forward to the next one!
Tickets to the gig were £8 for adults and £2 for children.
If you can’t wait for the next Mini Gig, Made with Music will be running a special Made with Music session for Baby Week Leeds this Tuesday at 10.00am at Stainbeck Community Hall, 162 Stainbeck Lane, Leeds LS7. Babies up to 18 months are welcome to join them to sing favourite songs and learn some new ones too! Just drop in and pay what you can.
To find out more about Made With Music Mini Gigs and Drop In Sessions in the future, follow the Made With Music Facebook Page or visit their website here.
*Mumbler was not paid for this review, although Laura was given free entry for herself and her two children. All views and opinions expressed are Laura’s own and are open and honest.