Club Rockhaq workshops land in Libraries!

We’ve almost recovered from running our opening Club Rockhaq workshops at Oadby Library & The BRITE Centre last weekend. Phew! A last minute flurry of signups for Oadby made for a long and jam-packed day for us, but we absolutely loved it! A massive thank you to everyone who came along and worked so hard in your opening session. It’s given us a lot to think about when we plan the rest of our monthly Club Rockhaq workshops. I’d also like to say thanks to Paul who said hi to me when I was setting up at Oadby Library. You brought back many nostalgic memories about working at Leicester’s De Montfort Hall in the early noughties. An unexpected but apt blast from the past 😀

WHAT HAPPENED AT CLUB ROCKHAQ; MONTH ONE?

Both workshops were led by me, Michelle Dhillon. I’m the Rockhaq Community founder and an ex-journalist who’s enslaving inspiring young people to revive the glory days of music journalism. My right-hand woman is a former Rockhaq workshops student – Khia Lewis-Todd! Khia has done exceptionally well since we last worked together, adding the prestigious BBC East Midlands (Nottingham, Derby and Leicester) to her impressive CV.

Although Khia is a broadcast journalist, her music reviews display a razor sharp wit and keen eye for detail. Man don’t know? Then check out her Drizzy live review from back in the day! We are very lucky to have Khia as a support tutor and hope to mix her broadcast skills with my newspaper experience to engage youngsters to boost their creative writing and communication skills.

WHAT MUSIC WAS COVERED?

We had a broad mix of ages at both libraries, ranging from 8-16 year olds. Although this was challenging, it gave us a brilliant mix of music and artists being covered. I was introduced to the delights of rapper Marshmello and the acidic J-Pop of BTS, which formed an interesting contrast to Bastille, The 1975 and an even more extreme juxtaposition with The Cure. This brought back nightmarish visions of seeing Robert Smith on Top of The Pops when I was a child, leaving me terrified and unable to sleep. Ah, memories 😉

But the coolest outcome from our first Club Rockhaq workshops is the proof that every child does engage with music. Each student, no matter how young, already has their own music tastes and opinions. We can also see that they are all keen to share their opinions with us. Nearly everyone’s workbooks were chock-full with thoughts about their favourite songs and artists. Our next workshops will focus on how to start writing their first music reviews.

FANCY IT?

We have a few places left for Club Rockhaq workshops. We’re giving priority to students aged 13-16+ to balance both groups out a little more, so please get in touch if you’re around those ages and keen to write creatively, using music as your radar.

Club Rockhaq Writing/Journalism Workshops 2019
  • Saturday 3 March at Oadby Library, Leicestershire: Club Rockhaq Music Journalism and Creative Writing Workshops. Time: 11am-1pm. Ages 8 and upwards. Cost: £5 per workshop or £3 when booking 10. FEW PLACES LEFT.
  • This will continue on the following dates: Saturday 6 April, Saturday 4 May, Saturday 1 June. A summer break will be discussed before dates are confirmed for the rest of the year.
  • Saturday 3 March at The BRITE Centre, Leicester: Club Rockhaq Music Journalism and Creative Writing Workshops. Time: 2pm-4pm. Ages 8 and upwards. Cost: £3 per workshop or £1 when booking 10 (discount subject to address check). FEW PLACES LEFT.
  • This will continue on the following dates: Saturday 6 April, Saturday 4 May, Saturday 1 June. A summer break will be discussed before dates are confirmed for the rest of the year.

RESERVE YOUR PLACE FOR CLUB ROCKHAQ!

Fill out our Club Rockhaq page booking form to reserve. Check our Schools page to find out how we run a typical workshop and hear students and teachers thoughts.

We have more Rockhaq workshops taking place all over the UK in 2019 and 2020. If you’re a teacher or music hub just get in touch to find out what we have planned and how to get your students involved.