Torbay’s Young Leaders Pioneer Their Own Creative Futures!
Tor-VYBZ is Torbay’s first youth-led grassroots music festival, created & delivered by young people with the support of Torbay’s Sound Communities CIC.
Taking place at The Banjo, one of Torquay’s most recognisable seafront spaces, the event will bring contemporary youth culture into a historic civic setting to connect Torbay’s heritage with the next generation of local creativity. It will inspire a cultural shift to a creative economy within the Bay – led by young people themselves. More than a one-day festival, Tor-VYBZ is designed as a place-
shaping cultural initiative: building opportunities for young people, strengthening Torbay’s creative economy and contributing to the Bay’s identity as a vibrant place to live, work and visit.
• 40 young people are involved in Tor-VYBZ Festival pre-production
• 25 young people will run the festival on the day itself (from young, first-time stage
technicians to sound engineers, artists, event liaison, live stream teams, promotions,
campaigns and media)
• 27 young grassroots musicians from Torbay and the South-West will perform on the
day
Event Creator, Jarvis Rohr, is a young practitioner at Sound Communities working with marginalised young people from across Torbay. He says: “I’ve had the idea of Tor-VYBZ for a long while. I
received seed funding last year and was interviewed about it the very same day my dad passed away, so this festival is intensely personal for me. I love knowing that so many other young people will get the chance to build their creative careers in a festival run by us and for our community.”
“We had over fifty applications from young musicians wishing to perform across Torbay and the South-West. Twenty-seven of them will appear across two sound stages throughout the day. Tor-VYBZ is a big opportunity to perform on a stage in front of thousands of people, to showcase their own music, and get back the recognition they deserve. Many of these young people have also had tough life circumstances and face many barriers to get into this industry in this area. This ambitious one-day free festival aims to spark an understanding that young people can form the heart of
a creative economy.”
Tor-VYBZ: Led by Young People
The Torbay Council Events team has been highly supportive of the ambitious project.
Tor-VYBZ is being enabled by Sound Communities CIC (a local youth-development organisation with 15 years’ experience of giving young people voice and professional skills). Sound Communities’
Young Leaders will take on the many roles involved in festival infrastructure and delivery.
Jack started at Sound Communities when he was 11 years old. Since then Jack has become a trauma-informed practitioner, a Young Leader, Innovation Lead and key member of the Sound Communities Management Team. Jack also leads on ‘Sound Alive’, a production arm within the umbrella of Sound Communities that provides industry-leading event equipment and trains young sound engineers whilst developing and managing young performers. Thanks to his experience in leading ‘Sound Alive’, Jack has found himself well placed to lead the delivery of this transformative festival. “I’ve never organised anything like a Festival before, but over the past six months I’ve booked vendors, bars, artists, stage and sound, and helped programme a roster of young performers that should make the Bay proud. On the day I’ll be heading an Event Leadership team working round the clock to deliver the best day out – EVER. Thank you Torbay Council Events for believing in us!”
Mike Cook, a Sound Communities Director, says, “Since Sound Communities first started in Torbay nearly 15 years ago, young people have often told us they are not proud to come from the area. Tor-VYBZ can help change that narrative. The festival gives young people the opportunity to create a culture they are proud of — something they have not only designed, but delivered.”
“In my role, I am lucky enough to see every day the passion, energy and confidence that creative projects like Tor-VYBZ can bring to young people who may feel forgotten about, unheard or lacking aspiration. Opportunities like this help young people feel listened to and most of all, that they are trusted to play an important part in shaping a positive identity for Torbay and for future generations. We couldn’t be prouder of our young team for putting together this amazing feat”.
With just over a week until the festival itself on Saturday 18th July, the project provides a structured programme for young people to gain practical experience across the creative industries whilst planning and delivering the event. These roles include event production and logistics, sound engineering and stage management, marketing, branding and promotion, digital media, content production, live performance and artist liaison.
[Lead Image: Young Leader Jarvis Rohr, Tor-VYBZ Festival Creator, performing at English Riviera Airshow 2024]