The Gig Cartel - Artist profiles: OneFest

Award-winning festival and non-profit talent development organisation OneFest, alongside a key leader of the British jazz vanguard, Shabaka Hutchings, have announced the major return of the festival in March 2020, featuring leading lights from the UK Jazz scene.

The former winner of AIM ‘Best Independent Festival’, OneFest innovates for 2020 with a unique ‘twin festival’ concept in Sheffield ‘s Leadmill and London’s EartH. Mercury Prize nominee Shabaka Hutchings (Sons of Kemet, The Comet is Coming) has carefully curated an ambitious line-up with OneFest co-founders Sandra Bhatia and Stephen Budd.

Each OneFest venue will host a daytime programme of talks and workshops, chaired by journalist and author John Robb and musicians such as SK Shlomo, Ross Gautreau and Skinny Pelembe, aimed at educating aspiring young music industry professionals across the North-South divide, sponsored by The Ivors Academy of Music Creators. Both London and Sheffield will also host a next-level evening programme of music, with unique one-off collaborations across generations of British Jazz, including Steam Down, Nat Birchall, Maisha, Steve Williamson, Leaf Cutter John and String Ting (Tomorrow’s Warriors), Okumu, Herbert, Skinner and Byron Wallen.

One of the original, pioneering ‘social conscience’ music festivals, OneFest returns following its hugely acclaimed ‘Lost Evenings with Frank Turner’ in 2017 at London’s Roundhouse.

With OneFest 2020, the aim is to duplicate the programme across two cities, providing a platform for young grassroots talent in London and South Yorkshire and highlight the obstacles they face as they embark on music industry careers, with particular focus on a major challenge – the ‘North/South divide’. 

OneFest 2020 highlights include:

Daytime - An inspired daytime programme of talks, panels and workshops, with panels chaired by award-winning journalist and author John Robb and speakers including artists SK Shlomo, Skinny Pelembe, Ross Gautreau, Michael Cauldfield, Chris McCourt (Warner Music) Covering topics such The North South Divide ‘Bridging the Gap’, Access to funding, Mental Health ‘Let’s Keep the Conversation Going’, Female Entrepreneurs in the Industry.  Extra special Workshop and Q&A with Shabaka Hutchings, Generation Next’ with The Ivors Academy, ‘Start Ups, Business, & Funding Workshop’, Fairwood Music Listening Session with Ross Gautreau, ‘How to Pitch a Brilliant Idea: Lessons from Film, TV and Tech‘, Business advice drop-in surgeries with Big Star Business. There will also be an Emerging Talent showcase with six acts coming through OneFest’s talent search in the summer, chosen by Shabaka Hutchings.

Evening - Featuring showcases from emerging talent and special one-off collaborations with members of the cohort and the best emerging and established British talent including Steam Down, Nat Birchall, Maisha, Steve Williamson, Leaf Cutter John and String Ting (Tomorrow’s Warriors), Skinner, Herbert, Okumu and Byron Wallen.