Music: My Roundhouse Rising Experience

Tosin Omilaju February 17, 2012 2
Music: My Roundhouse Rising Experience

Here at Live we’ve been looking forward to the Roundhouse Rising festival. From the 9-18 February the Roundhouse in Camden plays host to spectacular showcases of emerging talent as well as workshops for those 14-25-year-olds keen to get ahead in the music industry. Tosin shares her experience…

So as you can imagine, I was pretty excited that I’d have my own little part to play in this year’s festival when I got the chance to perform with the Roundhouse Choir at Sonic, a night that featured a line-up of new and fresh music from the likes of CLOUT!, Sarah Leo and The Waylayers. As the final act of the night, Roundhouse Choir accompanied the fantastic ‘psychedelic drum pop’ band, Beaty Heart.

Now, getting ready to perform at a gig was very different to my normal experience of going to one. Instead of waiting expectedly in the audience for some great live music, I was backstage practising the set list with the 30-strong choir, inwardly hoping not to disappoint. In the midst of our preparations, the pulse of the music on stage filled our dressing room, transforming the nervous energy into mass excitement.

Huddling behind the stage door with the choir, the adrenaline had me hopping from foot to foot as I heard the raucous cheers from the sold-out crowd. We walked on stage amongst the screams and began to sing a South African call and response that the young audience clapped along to. Then we accompanied Beaty Heart Songs, such as Get the Gurls, We’re All Friends Here and Banana Bread. My personal highlight was the last song of the night, which was a mash-up between the Beaty Heart single, Slush Puppy, and one of the Roundhouse Choir favourites Amabhayesikili 1940 – it was a hit!

Before I knew it, the performance was over. Getting lost in the exhilarating sounds of percussion and energetic vocals, my time on stage flew by and it was amazing. To catch a snippet of the the Roundhouse Choir you can click here.

And if you think you’ve missed out on all the fun at the Roundhouse don’t despair. Check out roundhouse.org.uk/rising for more info and tickets.

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POSTED IN » Features, Live Reviews, Music
About the author: Tosin Omilaju View all posts by
A creative young writer with a keen interest in the arts, culture and social issues who loves seeing young people inspiring others and impacting society. A total music-lover, who enjoys playing the guitar, singing and song writing.

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  • El Warren

    There’s something brilliant about singing with a load of other people. When’s the next performance?

  • http://tosinomilaju.tumblr.com/ Tosin Omilaju

    I definitely agree! The next for performance for the Roundhouse Choir will be on March 4 at Voices Now, a music showcase featuring choirs from across the UK. Check out 
    http://www.roundhouse.org.uk/whats-on/productions/voices-now for more info