Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Vylan ready to be heroes of the Music Hall
Oh Yeah chief Charlotte on the joys & challenges of running the music hub
They’re one of the most exciting bands around at the minute, mashing up grime and punk with biting social commentary, and Bob Vylan are in Northern Ireland tonight. The duo – frontman Bobbie and drummer, er Bobby as well, had Belfast fans rocking the rafters upstairs at the Deer’s Head when
at heart but, and I know people say this all the time, I have a very eclectic palate when it comes to music. And I think Northern Ireland music really shines at the minute. We’ve world class musicianship here and bands from punk to folk to whatever – it doesn’t matter.
“We’ve got people like Bicep travelling the world who are just an incredible electronic band so that term ‘local band’, for me local means great.
“And now Belfast has the UNESCO City of Music status we can use it for leverage and it’ll be a great tool to network internationally.
“Off the back of that, Belfast City Council commissioned a report and also a strategy for music which we really needed.
“Things like better access for musicians to space, better
venues, more support and funding and investment, better rehearsal facilities... all the usual but to have that in black and white, and something that the council will have to begin to implement, that is probably one of the most important things I have seen happening in all my years working in music.
“It’s all leading to a better place for musicians to live in and work.”
But, while there has never been a better time to be an aspiring musician in Northern Ireland, huge challenges remain.
A recent study found the music sector contributed almost £345million to our economy in 2019 but that is under threat in the post-covid landscape.
And Charlotte issued a stark warning to city managers and transport bosses. She said: “The festivals and venues, the
hospitality sector and entertainment sector and the arts – we’re all delivering and running really high quality shows.
“And where we’re falling down is that people are actually anxious before they even leave the house about how they are going to get home.
“That has to be dealt with, it has to be a priority. Covid definitely did something – a lot of people left the taxi business. I know Translink, too, are probably struggling to get drivers back on board but they have to give this focus now because we’re losing customers and, crucially, losing people who bought tickets but are leaving early. More people are driving into the city now as well – we’re talking about the environment, we’re meant to be encouraging more to use public transport yet here we are with people driving in because they’re to afraid about trying to get a taxi.
“And it has been tough, this city has had a tough time, but if we’re all working really hard to bring people back into the city then we need support to keep them in.
“And I really do hope there’s focus now on some kind of nighttime economy plan, and it has to include transport.
“Surely there must be a way to have more night services – night buses and night trains, even if it was at the weekends from Thursdays through to Saturday night all year long.
“Someone said we tried the night service and it didn’t really work but I think that times have changed, there are bigger venues, the Cathedral Quarter, a lot more places to go at night.
“And it’s not just hospitality – it’s people working in 24-hour garages and retail, hospital workers - it’s not just nine-to-five people who need buses.
“There really does need to be investment into arts and music and we’ve no executive and they really need to pull the boot straps up and get on with it.”
“There have been so many challenges. Covid still has its impacts – people don’t buy tickets as quickly as they used to, because they’re fed-up with things being cancelled so they wait till the last minute, and that’s difficult for us if we don’t know how many people are going to come.
“Funding is getting more and more difficult because there’s no Executive and there’s all the post-covid stuff to deal with, then the cost of living crisis is also going to have a huge impact in musicians who’ll struggle to make ends meet. So there’s tonnes of challenges but no shortage of talent – we’ve just got to keep trying to promote that.”
It’s always tough etching out a living as a musician, especially in a small country such as Northern Ireland. But with people like Charlotte and her team in their corner you get the impression it won’t be quite as difficult.
“You don’t have to get to the dizzy heights of Snow Patrol to have a viable career as a musician,” she added. “You just need to have the right conditions to be able to perform and make a living and do regular festivals and play venues that pay.
“Not everybody cares if they get to No1 in the Billboard charts but they just want to get out there and make people happy but they also want to be able to pay the bills.”
Check out ohyeahbelfast.com.