2017 once again brings Youth Beatz to Dock Park, Dumfries, and organisers are proud to announce the acts that will headline the main stage at Youth Beatz are EXAMPLE and BEN HAENOW.
A Youth Beatz Spokesperson told DGWGO “Having enjoyed successful events in the past eight years running the event with our partners, we expect thousands of young people to flock to Dock Park, Dumfries on Saturday 12th August to attend Scotland’s largest free youth music event. As last year’s event proved with tickets sold out in record time, demand for this year’s tickets is sure to be equally high with the quality headline acts help raise the standard of the event again this year. The main Youth Beatz day will be the highlight to end the 8 day Fringe Festival that will see a large number of community based events run over the Nithsdale area.”
EXAMPLE has certainly earned his stripes when it comes to making his mark in the music industry. With five successful albums under his belt, and a sixth one underway, he’s keeping things ticking over with multiple collaborations. These include his recent Jacob Plant collaboration, Reflections, which had regional and specialist Radio 1 support from Danny Howard, MistaJam and Greg James. His sixth album will see a return to the rapping over huge electronic club bangers which earned him millions of fans from across the globe including two huge Top 5 albums, seven Top 10 singles and two No.1’s in the UK alone.
EXAMPLE, real name Elliot Gleave, said “I’m really looking forward to coming back to Scotland to put on a great show! The crowds up here are always so amazing and I just can’t wait to be part of this fantastic event.”
BEN HAENOW rose to stardom in the 2014 series of the X Factor. From promising beginnings in the how, he was never in the bottom two, and ultimately made it to the live final. He went head to head with Fleur East, with both contestants performing the same winner’s song, a cover version of One Republic’s “Something I Need”. Fleur was the bookies’ favourite, but Ben won on the public vote. Since his win in X Factor, Ben signed a record deal with Simon Cowell’s Syco Music, has starred in the X-Factor Nationwide tour, and released his debut album, enjoying great chart success.
Ben said “I really enjoy playing gigs like Youth Beatz – there’s such brilliant crowd engagement and I can’t get enough of that festival vibe! See you in August!”
The headline acts will all be supported by some brilliant local youth talent from our region that includes Be Charlotte, Lewis Capaldi and Gracefell.
The Chair of Nithsdale Area Committee Ronnie Nicholson and the Vice Chair Tracey Little said “Our Council is proud to continue our support for this vibrant community event that is of such benefit to our region. We’re delighted that the festival will again run for 8 days and will be of the same high quality that the people of Dumfries and Galloway have come to expect and enjoy so much. The event has such a positive impact on the youth in our region and is such a great opportunity for all to see such high quality artists perform in our own region. I am delighted that Nithsdale Area Committee has again part funded the event, maintaining the event’s heritage as the largest free youth event in Scotland, and open to all the young people of our region. I have no doubt that Youth Beatz Fringe Festival, and Youth Beatz including the Toon will continue to build on previous successes to make it the best event to date.”
Now in its ninth year, the award-winning event is managed through a partnership led by the Dumfries and Galloway Councils Youth Work Service in conjunction with the Oasis Events Team. Funding for the event has been secured from Nithsdale Area Committee, Choices for Life, Magnox, Young Start, CashBack for Communities, Scot Rail, The White Ribbon Campaign and the Inspiring Entrepreneur Project.
Youth Beatz 2017 also sees the return of the hard hitting immersive and interactive learning experience – The Toon. The Toon brings a new point of view when dealing with issues that affect young peoples’ lives. Topics addressed will include domestic abuse, poverty, alcohol, sectarianism and legal highs amongst others. Over 50 local young people volunteer to develop this and will be working all summer to put together this award winning educational experience.
Youth Beatz 2017 is a free event. Tickets are required and can be obtained from the Official Youth Beatz website – www.youthbeatz.co.uk
Priority will once again be given to ticket applications from Dumfries and Galloway postcodes to ensure as many local residents get to attend the event.
Michael Williams, young volunteer from the Oasis Events Team involved in organising the event said; “It’s great being involved in developing Youth Beatz as part of the Events Team with the youth work team. What we achieve each year is always so brilliant, and this year’s line-up looks like it will make sure Youth Beatz is as popular as ever!! The Events Team members are always working with the staff at the Oasis Centre to build on our events and productions skills – running the lighting for the show last year was such a highlight – and we’re excited to show the difference we make through such a special event again this year.”
In the days and weeks leading to Youth Beatz and on the days of events, we have a high number of volunteers who give up their time to come and help – this event would not be possible without them. Last year saw a staggering 107 volunteers give their time between Youth Beatz, Youth Beatz Fringe and The Toon. Keep a look out for this year’s volunteering opportunities in the next few weeks to find out how you can be part of it.
Also returning for 2017 is the successful Youth Beatz Fringe, that will see different events running for 7 days across Nithsdale including events in Kirkconnel, Sanquhar, Dumfries, Lochside, Heathhall, Locharbriggs and Moniaive, giving young people even more to do over the summer. Keep visiting www.youthbeatz.co.uk for more information as it becomes available, and the full programme will be available in the coming weeks.
