Thanks to a collaboration between Leeds Trinity University and Deer Shed, I was given an amazing opportunity to host an event at this year’s Deer Shed Festival. Performing on stage at a large-scale music festival has been something I have wanted to do since I was a boy, so this was a real bucket list moment for me. 

It all began in March of this year, when a course mate and I were asked to plan a 40 minute ‘artists panel’ for the festival. Our proposal was a radio show that I had concocted during my undergraduate degree, titled Soundtrack to my Life. The show would feature music artists performing at the festival and focus on the memories they associate with music and vice-versa. 

Once the format was approved, the next step was to secure the artists. This type of planning is not something I’d done before, so I was grateful to have the support of both the festival organisers and the University academics during this process. The guidance received allowed me to pursue this incredible opportunity to its full potential. 

I successfully arranged for three artists to appear on the recording and spent lots of time researching my guests, including going through old interviews to build a bank of information which I used to construct my interview questions. My plans were almost blighted when, a week before the festival, I received news that my co-host and two of the artists would no longer be able take part. The prospect of doing it solo was daunting, but I felt confident I could handle the pressure after doing so much preparation. Through an incredible stroke of luck, I was also able to find another artist at the last minute who ended up being perfect for the panel. 

I’m pleased to say that, despite some inevitable pre-show nerves, the event went brilliantly. It was a pleasure to speak to artists tinyumbrellas, a Leeds-based act whose music focuses on romantic and platonic love, and Frankie Archer, an electrofolk artist from Consett in the North East of England, both of whom made my job much easier by providing some fascinating insights into their relationship with music. Topics discussed ranged from confronting outdated patriarchal views of women in folk music, to whether music becoming a job has impacted the artists’ relationship with songwriting. 

The success of the show was in no small part a result of the skills I have developed at Leeds Trinity. Before starting the MA Journalism degree, I wouldn’t have been able to turn my research into an interesting set of interview questions. The course has taught me a great deal about how to phrase interview questions in order to get the best and most interesting answers. 

My time at Leeds Trinity University has also taught me how to be a good listener, particularly when interviewing. I have always thought of myself as a strong speaker, but I now appreciate the importance of taking in what others are saying in order to identify interesting comments and ask follow-up questions. In the end, I didn’t prepare forty minutes worth of questions because I knew I didn’t need to. 

I’m so grateful to have had this opportunity which gave me a platform to express my passions and taught me valuable skills that I will carry forward into my professional career. Since the festival finished, I have had promising conversations about being part of the line-up in future. I’ve already started to picture what that might look like, and I’m excited to build on the platform laid down this year. 

Ben Webster is an MA Journalism student at Leeds Trinity University.