Charlie Jones Live Venue.

Charlie was well known as a mentor for those wanting to get into the live sound industry. Through collaboration with Charlie’s family, Wigwam and the industry’s biggest names, we created our first live sound training programme to continue his legacy. Alumni from our live sound training programmes have since gone on to work with the biggest names, including George Michael, Alicia Keys, Adele and Sam Fender.

Our equipment-packed live venue is your classroom. This is where our live sound students learn their craft and where our music performance students prepare for the big stage. We play host to exciting events and showcase concerts, where many of our student’s ideas come into fruition. Many bands and artists have also used this space for rehearsal, tour pre-production and live recording, including Courteneers, Tito Jackson and ShadowParty. Our students are able to assist in these sessions and gain unique experience.

The greatest asset of our Charlie Jones Live Venue is its flexibility.  Our students book out this facility, just like our studios, to learn, practice and work on any of their projects.  They can then configure it to suit the objectives of their session.  Do they want to expand the PA system to incorporate delay lines, or add rear left and rear right loudspeakers to create a quadraphonic system?  Do they want the band to use traditional monitor wedges or wireless in-ear monitoring systems?  Do they want another engineer to create the monitor mix for the band or are they going to handle everything from front of house?  On top of that, there are 10 analogue and digital mixing consoles to choose from, from Allen & Heath, Midas and Soundcraft. The digital consoles provide a range of digital networking options to learn.

As our students are reconfiguring the Charlie Jones Live Venue for various uses, they’re building up knowledge of how different equipment connects with each other.  They’re also developing troubleshooting skills as they encounter and solve issues along the way. This vital experience is key for working in live sound, and only possible through regular practice in a safe environment like this.