Art Imitates Life
Motivated by the lack of accessible music spaces, United by The Groove put together a fully accessible rave hosted by The Yard in Manchester. Co-founder and organiser Joe Skinner teamed up with DJs Finely Allen, AJ Murphy, Jake Smith and Matty Taylforth to raise money for disability charity Sense. Soundview came along to document the experience and have some important conversations around music and accessiblity.
Music brings everyone together. Fans attend sell-out stadium performances of their favourite artists. Church-goers gather together and sing carols at Christmas time. Families crowd around the TV at Eurovision to watch the UK get nul point. Music is a fundamental part of the human existance – however performance spaces are not always accessible for everyone.
Design with, not for
Organiser Joe Skinner is a wheelchair user and all four of the featured DJs have lived experience of navigating barriers to accessibility, not just to the music scene but in every day life. Joe points out that there is a lot of thought that goes into saying yes to a night out – will my wheelchair fit through the door, do they have accessible toilets, will transport be available at the time I need to get home – and many more. United by the Groove sets out to eliminates these barriers. The Yard was provided the best choice for access, including accessible toilets, a lowered bar equipped with a hearing loop, a chill out room for those who might feel overwhelmed, and the event wrapped up at 10pm which allowed ample time for public transport as a means of getting home.
The event was a great success and hopefully the first of many more to come. The best way to increase accessibilty is to increase awareness, as DJ and producer Finely Allen points out that people aren’t necessarily used to seeing a wheelchair user like himself at a rave, let alone behind the DJ booth! Finley goes on to express the importance of events like these as it helps to create a fairer digital ecosystem with more diverse voices. Inclusion begins at conception – get diverse voices on your team!
Finley Allen in action on the turntables at United by The Groove’s first fully accessible rave
We are all about accessbility and inclusion here at Soundview so we wish United by the Groove the best of luck for the future – and hopefully lots more parties!
