From my very early days of filling up fridges with beers for the DJs right up to booking & managing a boutique festival for 2000 in Croatia, I have indeed done it, seen it & worn the t-shirt when it comes to the world of events.

I have found that a more intimate event allows for a much more bespoke style of programming with personality to match. From working on established events such as The Electric Chair to helping launch newer gatherings such as Sticky Heat as well as my own Sprechen events, I am able to analyse the direction & focus of each event and through working to budgets whilst keeping to time scales I can ensure each event is a success financially & culturally.

I am always aware of talent from often marginalised communities and as such I always strive to support & promote diversity within my events & programmes.

I always undertake the role of being a curator with excitement & passion as it allows me to bring together a vision of the venue or event in question whilst also bringing a touch of my own into the mix. This can include everything from the line up, the artwork, the food & drink offering, the music/playlist creation & entertainment.

In my role at Electriks I was responsible for programming all the weekender events at The Refuge which included the sourcing & curation of a weekly roster of DJs as well all the weekender events. These would be 2 - 3 day events that ran for 12 hours each day and would consist of a variety of content to appeal to all age demographics. These events would become an annual focus on the Manchester events calendar and would see attendance of 2500+ each day to attend a programme of film showings, Q&A’s, pop up markets, family activities, food & club events. I also programme One Deck Sessions at Electrik Bar which has seen a diverse selection of guests perform at including Maxine Peake, Vicky McClure, Irvine Welsh, The Horrors, John Simm and even the mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham.

I’m a firm believer that at times, many heads are better than one and as much as I love to sit and be creative I do thrive of working with other creative minds. From studio projects with musicians from Jakarta to established musicians like A Certain Ratio, I do love to co-create. I think that through communication & brainstorming the results can form on-going working relationships & partnerships that will flourish and become a success within their own right.

I pride myself on being able to immerse myself within a subject matter & through my own knowledge and via extensive research I am able to get in a state of mind to create. This has seen me undertake the creation of visuals to help promote events & music releases as well as serve as immersive visuals within a venue and at an event.

Having been the mentored many times I am now happy to be at a stage in my career where I am able to take on the mentor role with emerging creative talent. This has allowed me to share my own experience from the many positions I have held and help build confidence & knowledge with other individuals in a variety of areas who are at an early stage in their career path.

This has seen me host presentations at SEM to give a talk about forming a creative career undertake a producer & engineer role for a producer’s Arts Council project as well as a regular contribution to workshops ran by Reform Radio where I give career advice & feedback to young DJs.