AudioActive: Brighton hip hop artists and Rag ’n’ Bone Man help launch innovative new music venue for Worthing

The charity has expanded its Sussex base to create a one-stop music destination in Worthing with a broad spectrum of choice for under-represented and new music talent to perform.

There were private parties for invited guests on Thursday and Friday, where chief executive Adam Joolia explained the background to the launch and the vision for the future, and an open day on Saturday where young people could join free music workshops.

Adam said: “Although many of the young people we work with go on to carve out careers as musical artists or even achieve global stardom, that’s not our main agenda.

“We simply want to make it possible for young people and aspiring artists to use music to reach their potential, whether that be as empowered and active members of society or tomorrow’s exciting artists and disruptors.”

In a video played to guests, Rory Graham, the singer-songwriter known as Rag ‘n’ Bone Man, talked about his support for the charity and its artists, saying he was ‘paying it forward’. Having had lots of support to get to number one, he said he wanted that for somebody else.

Adam explained the charity’s expansion to Worthing started four years ago, when Clare Halstead, manager at Colonnade House, asked if AudioActive would be interested in a collaboration with the creative hub and Worthing Borough Council.

He said: “Although we weren’t doing any projects in Worthing at the time, we were working with young people from Worthing, who used to come over to Brighton to take part in what we did, get involved in performances, so it made sense.”

He highlighted Worthing’s rich music history, the quality of the music department at Northbrook College and the fact the Slip Jam hip hop night in Brighton was attracting a lot of young people from Worthing.

They started with the #Scratchpad project at Colonnade House with Adam Seaman in 2018.

Adam said: “People just got involved and they were hungry for it. It was immediately apparent how much of a need there was for something more like that.”

An event at St Paul’s followed and as a result, The Arts Council provided more funding to help launch AudioActive in Worthing.

Adam said: “It feels like we are really at the start of something.”

AudioActive, in Montague Street, will be open seven days a week, with a coffee on the ground floor.

CLICK HERE to see inside AudioActive Worthing – before and after

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