Nicky Chance Thompson MBE DL: Future proofing the music we love at The Piece Hall
We’re heading into the final phase of Live at The Piece Hall 2025. This series has seen many magical moments so far with artists from America, Australia, Ireland and Scotland, cementing our beautiful building’s place as a premiere global music venue; hearing what the stars think of our unique heritage site brings a lump to my throat.
The shows have been spectacular with 6,000 people having the time of their lives to epic lighting, banging beats and the greatest guitar riffs. But some really important things have been happening that the audience don’t see.
Early last year we launched The Piece Hall Academy, an umbrella project offering a variety of training courses to upskill young people and increase opportunities in music production, live events and artist development. It’s part of our commitment to the future of arts and culture in the region, developing the next generation of creatives and making sure our summer season has an impact way beyond the gigs themselves.
One part of the academy is live events training which we run alongside The Academy of Live Technology at Production Park. Students then have work experience on the gigs, with placements on all 36 shows this summer.
These are really life changing opportunities. Josh recently completed the course, he said: “It’s brought me out of my comfort zone and given me a lot of opportunities to seek employment. I’ve gained a lot of valuable skills. I can’t believe I’m standing here (on the stage) I’m just fortunate enough The Piece Hall has given me the opportunity”.
The work experience programme is overseen on the ground by our head of production Martin Hudson: “We’ve had them doing everything from unloading the trucks to setting up lighting equipment and instruments for the bands. It’s really great for them to get some hands-on experience in the industry, it’s good for them it’s good for the town hopefully we’re making a difference for some people.
Maybe one of our trainees will step into Martin’s shoes one day.
The Academy also works with rising stars and one of the hottest bands on the books right now are Halifax’s own The Caymans. There’s a fascinating story about them bumping into Pete Docherty from the Libertines who played at The Piece Hall on Friday. The Caymans were invited to play a warmup slot after a chance meeting with Pete in Leeds last year.
They played an unofficial warm up gig in Halifax on Friday at The New Royal Oak. Recently re-opened the pub is set to become a great grass roots music venue, part of the eco-system which will feed Live at The Piece Hall eventually.
With venues closing at an alarming rate, it’s wonderful to hear of new life being breathed into the scene. If you love music, I urge you to go see a live show. Whether that’s a free gig in a pub or paying a tenner at a local venue, it all helps. And who knows you may see an act who will one day be headlining at The Piece Hall.