Festival work experience
Get connected to the festival circuit
2021 festivals update
Everyone here at BIMM Music Institute is over the moon to see festivals slowly but surely coming back to life. And with that, we’re excited to welcome the return of our festival work experience programme.
We’re continuing to help and support music festivals across Ireland and the UK after a particularly challenging and uncertain time. While things aren’t entirely back to normal, it’s great to hear live music again and watch our students gain real-world experiences (at a reduced capacity) in safe, Covid-regulated environments. Discover the festivals and student roles due to take place in 2021.
2021 festivals
The following local festivals are due to run across the UK and Ireland, with many students recruited for volunteering, backstage roles and on-stage performances:
- Another Love Story (Ireland)
- Beyond the Tracks
- Bigfoot Festival
- Bristol Craft Beer Festival
- Confessional Festival
- Creamfields
- Electric Picnic (Ireland)
- End Of The Road
- Farmfest
- FOCUS Wales
- Getahead Festival
- Gloucestershire Cricket Club
- Ireland Music Week
- Liverpool Sound City
- Manchester Folk Festival
- Manchester Psych Festival
- Moseley Folk Festival
- Mostly Jazz, Funk & Soul
- Neighbourhood
- Other Voices (Ireland)
- Secret Sessions
- Slam Dunk
2021 festival work experience
BIMM students from across all colleges will gain invaluable experience throughout the 2021 festival circuit. We’ve recruited students in roles and areas such as:
- Advancing assistants
- Artist liaison
- Box office
- Event management
- Guestlist
- Health and safety inductor placements
- Information/guest support
- Marketing assistants
- Performance
- Production assistants
- Production office
- Registration assistants
- Room hosts and presenters
- Room management
- Room support, i.e. managing session times to make sure speakers don’t run over, managing the mic and audience questions
- Runners
- Sound engineering
- Sponsorship assistance
- Stage crew
- Stage management
- Volunteering
BIMM Music Institute will follow and adhere to government advice and updates around restrictions, testing, precautions and keeping our students as safe as possible. Please note that the festivals and student roles listed above are subject to change.
Here at BIMM, we give you the opportunity to see how a festival really works.
Our festival partnerships include:
- Glastonbury
- The Great Escape
- 2000trees
- Brighton Pride
- Barn on the Farm
- Twisted Village
- Brighton Festival
We also work with festivals across the channel, such as Reeperbahn Festival. This provides the perfect opportunity for our BIMM Music Institute Berlin and BIMM Music Institute Hamburg students to get involved.
We offer festival work experience placements that complement your chosen course and discipline – and give you the edge when it comes to applying for internships and jobs after you graduate.
You’ll get to know the people working there, make new industry connections and see how large-scale festivals are put together.
Whether it’s on Worthy Farm, down near Newquay or deep in a forest in the Cotswolds, you could be performing on stage or working behind the scenes – and simultaneously soaking up invaluable real-life experiences.
You’ll also get to be in the vicinity of the best bands in the world as well as have the chance to completely immerse yourself in music for three to five days. Sounds like the dream, right?
My festival experience
Don’t just take our word for it, of course. Hear from the students themselves who have volunteered for placements and reaped the benefits of working on the festival circuit.
Second-year Music Business student Clara Charlier tells us about her jam-packed summer working behind the scenes at Victorious and Brighton Pride. Find out what her role involved and the key things she learned from the experience.
BIMM London Drum graduate Charlie Fiske looks back over his summer gigs supporting the likes of George Ezra and Emile Sande.
BIMM graduate Danielle Reginiano tells us about her life at BIMM and what she learned from taking on roles at some of the biggest festivals around the country.
What work experience opportunities are available?
Our placements include roles such as:
- Site office manager
- Production assistant
- Artist liaison
- Accreditation assistant
- Stage management
- Front of house (FOH) engineering
- Backline technician
- Performance-based opportunities
- And many more
More festival experiences
We catch up with BIMM London alumna Georgie Mills as she reflects back on her festival season that included 2000 Trees, Truck Festival and YNOT.
CEO of the Sample Music Festival, Alexander Sonnenfeld, tells you about his unique three-day event in Berlin. Held at several venues across Berlin, including our very own BIMM Berlin, the festival is a showcase of handmade electronic music.
