Central at The Parade, Swindon Hub, an accessible, friendly community space which opened in October are aiming to host regular Saturday jamming sessions, to promote local artists and give them a platform where they can perform……
The Hub is a comfortable volunteer-led centre trying to bring the community together. They’ve an affordable café where they invite you to relax in their “snug,” read and share books in their bookshop, browse items for sale from local retailers and upcycled furniture by Renew Men’s Shed. The profits of any surplus of stock items donated from shops for sale go to Swindon Night Shelter.

They are currently building a calendar of regular events including a monthly craft market, weekly knitting circle and writer’s club, as well as art workshops and regular music jams on the weekends. They’ve just hosted Swindon ZineFest, which I’m sorry to hear I missed, and from a Women’s History Month exhibition or a Ukraine fundraising jumble sale to Dub in the Hub sessions, the last one by Suitcase Sound System, there’s something for everyone here, especially those who like cake!
Music last Saturday came from The Thieving Magpies, but it was far from the be-all-and-end-all of activities at the Swindon Hub, as well as the aforementioned zine festival, there was a kid’s comic workshop too; it really caters for all.
“The Jam is a Community project as much as a Music one,” organiser Claire told me.
“It focuses on confidence building, teamwork, social interaction and collaboration.
The Jam has been running already since September last year and there have been hundreds of people who have taken part.
There are loads of people who take part who have no background in music or performing to an audience and it creates an opportunity for people to get involved with music without the traditional barriers that stop so many people from taking the first step.
That said there are also many talented musicians who take part and it creates a wonderful mix of experience and enthusiasm that allows people of all experience levels to have a meaningful musical and emotional experience.
The key to creating a successful jam is building a relaxed atmosphere with little pressure or expectation that allows people to share without fear of criticism, ridicule or humiliation.
The Hub has a great atmosphere for this kind of activity due to the warm, friendly and supportive nature of the volunteers and visitors to the space.
There are already some fantastic success stories of people who have had their confidence built up by attending the event.“

Post lockdown has seen a real boost in community spirit, and such volunteer-based projects like this are a lifeline, in rural areas and debatably more crucial in urban areas too; the larger the population doesn’t necessarily mean the large scope for friendships to occur, in fact it can be harder. So, a massive congratulations to the good folk at Swindon Hub, this looks like an amazing space doing some amazing work, and I might add for a wide-spanning age demographic.
They always need volunteers, if you want to join and help shape the future of communities in Swindon, and any musicians interested in performing for their day sessions should contact them. Facebook Page here.




Trending….

Jon Amor, Friends, and the Southgate
Jeepers. No one works that hard on a Sunday, surely? Even if your boss shoves a Sunday shift unwillingly on you, you brush as much … Continue reading “Jon Amor, Friends, and the Southgate”

Hooch on Streaming
Once a cover band, east Wiltshire’s rootsy four-piece Hooch have moved to writing and recording original material. Their discography goes onto music streaming sites today … Continue reading “Hooch on Streaming”

Full-Tone Stands Alone
Full Tone Festival August Bank Holiday then, penny for your thoughts on that one…… Five irritating wannabes handpicked for their conflicting personalities vote on each … Continue reading “Full-Tone Stands Alone”

REVIEW – Devizes Arts Festival 2022
A Great Festival – Now What About The Future? Andy Fawthrop Well, the 2022 Devizes Arts Festival has now drawn to its successful close. Thanks … Continue reading “REVIEW – Devizes Arts Festival 2022”

Timid Deer; back with more Melodies for the Nocturnal
Salisbury may be a grey area for us, we don’t get to hear a great deal about the music scene there. I guess they have … Continue reading “Timid Deer; back with more Melodies for the Nocturnal”

Weekend Roundup: 30th June – 3rd July 2022
Full throttle into July, then; here’s what the weekend looks like around these parts. These parts of cultural void, so it’s claimed, we say otherwise…. … Continue reading “Weekend Roundup: 30th June – 3rd July 2022”

REVIEW – Tamsin Quin & Vince Bell @ The Southgate, Devizes – Sunday 26th June 2022
300 and still counting! Andy Fawthrop Is it really (not that) long? Debs suddenly realised over the weekend that this was the 300th gig that … Continue reading “REVIEW – Tamsin Quin & Vince Bell @ The Southgate, Devizes – Sunday 26th June 2022”

REVIEW – Fulltone Strings @ Town Hall, Devizes – Sunday 26th June 2022
Four Seasons In One Day Andy Fawthrop There’s no respite if you’re into your culture in D-Town these days. Fresh off the back of the … Continue reading “REVIEW – Fulltone Strings @ Town Hall, Devizes – Sunday 26th June 2022”

Miracle at MantonFest!
Ah yeah, Paul McCartney whisked Bruce Springsteen and Dave Grohl out of his hat at Glasto, and no one can top that, no one dare … Continue reading “Miracle at MantonFest!”

REVIEW – Sarah C Ryan Band @ The Southgate, Devizes – Saturday 25th June 2022
Another Great Find Andy Fawthrop Ah – you never know what life is going to throw up at you till it smacks you right in … Continue reading “REVIEW – Sarah C Ryan Band @ The Southgate, Devizes – Saturday 25th June 2022”
Hi how do we send a song to you for the Julia’s house compilation album?
LikeLike
Hi Lee, yes, email is devizine@hotmail.com if you could send it in WAV file format via dropbox or we transfer, that’d be great, thanks; send a personal email too and we can chat there about it. Regards, Darren.
LikeLike