🎸 Music Evermore Rockin’ Roundup – April 2026

April absolutely flew by for us at Music Evermore CIC, with another busy month of school sessions, evening bands, performances and exciting new opportunities for young people across Manchester. As we continue to grow, we’re really excited to have recently announced our brand new 4-day “Pathway to the Music Industry” taster course for 16–18 year olds living in the Benchill & Central Wythenshawe area. The course forms part of our wider vision to create meaningful pathways into paid work within the music industry for local young people, with hopes of developing this into a long-term evening programme in the future. The response so far has been fantastic and we can’t wait to get started.

🎤 We’re also pleased to be taking part in the Festival of Lifelong Learning with a special one-off Adult Band Session at the Wythenshawe Forum Library Creative Space. This relaxed 2-hour workshop is open to adults of all abilities — whether they already play an instrument or simply fancy having a go for the first time. With drums, guitars, keyboards and microphones all set up and ready to go, we’re looking forward to welcoming some new faces for a fun afternoon of live music and jamming, helping connect likeminded individuals together with a love for music.

🎪 We also had a fantastic day out recently at ChasFest 2026, where 4 of our young Wythenshawe bands took to the stage and absolutely smashed it. It was a brilliant opportunity for the groups to perform on a completely different stage, in front of a brand new audience, whilst gaining more valuable live performance experience and confidence. All of the bands sounded fantastic throughout the day and it was brilliant to see so many young local musicians representing Wythenshawe so positively, all whilst helping raise money for Wythenshawe Cricket & Rugby Club in Sharston.

Now let’s dive into what we got up to throughout April!

🎸 Park View Academy

Sponsored by Heist or Hit

KS2 have kicked off the new term by starting work on fresh songs and getting hands-on with instruments again. During the first week back, students focused on some instrumental technique exercises on keyboards and guitars, helping them get used to using all of their fingers correctly and building confidence ready to transfer those skills into their new songs over the coming weeks.

🥁 Meanwhile, KS1 have continued developing their rhythm skills, this time being introduced to semi-quavers — currently known in class as “caterpillar beats”! Pupils have been combining all of the different note values and rhythms they’ve learned so far to begin creating their own original rhythm patterns. Year 2 also enjoyed another taster session on guitar, continuing to build excitement ahead of moving into KS2 music lessons in the future.

🎹 Peel Hall Primary School

Sponsored by Heist or Hit

It’s been another busy few weeks at Peel Hall, with new songs being introduced right across the school as preparations continue for the Summer Extravaganza performances. Year 4 have started learning some of the songs being sung by Years 1 and 2, allowing them to accompany the younger pupils instrumentally during performances — a brilliant way of encouraging collaboration and confidence across different year groups.

🎶 EYFS pupils have been focusing on singing together as a group, building confidence, listening skills and teamwork, whilst the rest of KS2 have been working hard powering through their new songs ready for the summer performances.

🎤 Seymour Road Academy

Sponsored by Rising Tide AI

The classes at Seymour Road continue progressing brilliantly, with all year groups working hard on their songs ahead of upcoming school performances. Year 1 in particular have absolutely flown this term and are already working on their fourth song — a fantastic achievement! We’re really looking forward to them showcasing everything they’ve been learning to parents and carers at the end of half term.

🌟 Webster Primary School

Sponsored by Rising Tide AI

There was plenty of excitement at Webster Primary recently as our vocal tutor Dani appeared on the new Channel 4 TV show Your Song alongside Paloma Faith and Sam Ryder.

🎙️ Dani has since been back in school delivering singing lessons and group vocal sessions to younger pupils, helping inspire children to find their voice, build confidence and develop a love for music.

🎪 As we move closer towards half term, attention is now turning towards WebStock — the school’s annual pupil-led festival — where school rock bands and Year 6 leavers will perform outdoors to the rest of the school community.

🎸 Wythenshawe Forum Band Sessions

Funded by Manchester City Council’s Your Neighbourhood Fund & Wythenshawe Community Housing Group

All of the Wythenshawe Forum groups worked incredibly hard preparing for their recent ChasFest performances. With every group either performing completely new material or refining songs they already know well, rehearsals have been sounding fantastic and confidence across the bands continues to grow.

🔥 Looking ahead to the rest of the summer term, preparations are already underway for the Music Evermore Summer Festival in July, where every band is aiming to build towards a full 15-minute live set performance.

🤘 Sponsored Places in We Will Rock You Project Saturday Band Sessions

Funded by public donations and community supporters

🎵 Group 1

Group 1 have continued growing in confidence as rehearsals progress towards the summer showcase. The group are now beginning plans to write their own original song alongside performances of Parklife and We Will Rock You.

The band have been working hard on timing, stage presence and locking in together musically, whilst also experimenting creatively with vocal styles and arrangements. Every week the confidence and chemistry within the group continues to improve and they’re sounding stronger and stronger heading towards performance season.

🎵 Group 2

Group 2 have returned after the break full of energy and confidence, quickly getting back into songs including Teddy Picker, Song 2 and Sit Down. There has been a strong focus on tightening rhythm and timing within the band, whilst encouraging the group to bounce off each other musically and perform with more confidence.

🎶 The songs are continuing to come together brilliantly and the group are progressing well towards being performance-ready over the coming months.

🎵 Group 3

Group 3 have been continuing to refine their performances of Everybody Wants to Rule The World and In Bloom, both of which have really started to come together recently.

🎸 The group have also continued working through Baby Doll, focusing particularly on the middle section and tightening up rhythms to ensure everybody stays fully synchronised during performances.

🎵 Group 4

Group 4 have been experimenting with a softer, more “unplugged” arrangement of Weak, using acoustic guitar and brushed drums to create a completely different feel to the original version. The new arrangement is helping the group develop their own musical identity and character within the song.

🎤 Alongside refining existing songs, the band have also been working on The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret, which they can now successfully perform in full.

🎵 Group 5

Group 5 made the decision to move away from Zombie as a performance piece, feeling that the arrangement was becoming too crowded instrumentally and losing some of the finer musical details. Instead, they have switched focus onto Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus, which is already proving to suit the group’s energetic and upbeat style much more naturally.

🔥 The group have also continued rehearsing Beat It and Song 2, both of which remain strong and confident performance pieces within their set.

❤️ Thank You

We’re now reaching up to 1,000 children and young people every week across schools, community venues and youth settings — something we are incredibly proud of.

Thank you to our funders, partners, tutors, schools, families and young people for making this possible.