Promoting Shetland's musical future

The Shetland Young Promoters Group (SYPG), formed in 2009, aims to give young people the chance to learn about event management and promotion through practical experience, while providing young up-and-coming musicians, bands and DJs with performance opportunities.

The group, which is run by a committee aged 14 to 25, has put on a wide range of events in recent years, from DJ nights to rock gigs. After a Covid-enforced break, the initiative restarted in January this year, and had put on their first family-friendly gig by the end of March.

Two SYPG committee members, vice-chair Ella Roberston and vice-treasurer Zahrick Johnson, tell us more about their recent experiences with the group.

16-year-old Ella Robertson is studying the NC music course at UHI Shetland, and has been playing the fiddle since she was ‘incredibly small’. She got involved with the SYPG in 2023 as she was interested in organising events for young people to enjoy and in giving ‘young people opportunities to perform, showcase their talents and even potentially start up a career in the arts.’

Zahrick Johnson is 15 years old and plays the bass guitar and alto saxophone.

His college lecturer recommended he join the SYPG ‘to have a say in music event stuff and the like’. He soon found himself involved in a range of tasks, from working with tech equipment to writing promotional articles for the local press.

You can watch Zahrick and his band, Zumba Crisis, performing at their SYPG concert here.

The group of young people took less than three months to plan, promote and perform their first family friendly gig. How did a newly-formed youth group manage to put on a sell-out gig in such a short time frame?

Ella explains: "We had to start by just brainstorming ideas. Lots of people had lots of different ideas in their heads but we all ended up agreeing that our first event after Covid should be a variety concert. We contacted and booked bands that were already known in Shetland and also put together groups of young people too.

"We had to make posters and social media posts and try to get the word out there about our event. On the day, we had to get everyone in for soundchecks, which was a new experience for a few young people. We set out tables and chairs in Mareel [the arts venue in Lerwick] and then people started coming in. So many people came to the gig that we had to set out more chairs and tables!"

Reflecting on the night, Zahrick says: "I would say the gig went better than I expected. I found it quite an exhilarating experience, hopping up on the Mareel stage and laying down some groovy tunes. From what I was aware of, people quite enjoyed it as they were up dancing and stuff."

Ella agrees: "The gig went really well. Plenty of people came and we stuck well to the schedule. Those of us performing were well prepared and the crowd had lots of fun. I went up to dance with my little sister near the end of the first band and that started lots of people dancing! It was great to see such a lively crowd. I am so happy with how everything went and am so impressed with the group's efforts."

Throughout the process of preparing and planning the gig, the young people were supported by, and worked closely with, Shetland Arts staff. Zahrick says: "We got advice on venues and help with assessing what sort of budget we had to put on the gig. We also got a few recommendations on what well-known bands to ask play. I would say that I learned how to roll a successful gig of some calibre."

Ella adds: "We worked with adults who knew all sorts of things about gigs and the creative industries and they were a huge help. There were so many little things we had to do that we probably would have totally missed out if they hadn't been there to guide us."

Far from being a one-off event, the successful March gig has added momentum to the SYPG movement, and plans are afoot for future events. Ella says: "We are confident we would be able to put on another gig now keeping in mind the process we followed for our first one. I can't wait to see what else we will be able to do for young people and Shetland as a whole in the future."

This optimism is almost certainly shared by Shetland young people, who are already looking forward to seeing what the SYPG will do next.

Interested in studying music? A range of courses are available in Shetland – discover more here.