Greenbelt 1

Where to start? Heading up the youth programme at Greenbelt was an amazing, incredible, fantastic, confusing, complex and shattering experience!

Technical problems on the opening night saw venues opening late (or in the case of one youth stage staying dark), but once we got going we had a great night. In Humanic (14-17's) the team lead some crazy games between some great performances. The Royal Welcome, Just Fuzz, Zerostar and thebandwithnoname all played their hearts out to a crowd that just kept growing. Meanwhile Sounds of Salvation paid their first ever visit to the 11-14's venue and had a fantastic night with over 300 kids in that venue. Tom Elliot was everything a magician should be - funny, interactive and unbelievable, and a great time was had by all.

Of course there was lots of dashing about backstage, but we got off to a great start. By 11pm on Friday the message was out, this was not going to be jut another year in the youth venues, but a giant leap forward in terms of ambition, depth and strength of the programme. But that was only the beginning...

Lost in Space...

Well the old blog has gone where ever missing blogs go, its wit and insight lost forever. However I have failed to take the hint, and despite this tragic loss here I am blogging again!

Writing this 48 hours before Greenbelt is just a bit scary. We have a great youth programme in place for this year with some fantastic bands, speakers, workshops and teams. The plans are in place, the tents are going up. We're hoping a team of 14-17 year old's will also make a short movie that captures something of the heart of the festival - the finished item will end up on the Greenbelt website and I hope here.

Friday night alone we have Sounds of Salvation, The Band With No Name, Zerostar, Just Fuzz, The Royal Welcome, magician Tom Elliot, Karaoke, The Skate Park, Chill Zones and some weird and wacky games and shows. And that's just in the youth part of the festival. All in all its going to be quite a weekend. www.greenbelt.org.uk

However all this excitement means i won't be able to blog my thoughts about the new Star Wars movie or Wall.e for a little while yet.
Watch this space...