Youth Workshop Assistant - Blog 1
My name is Eddie and I have been playing the viola in Cream Tees since I was 12 years old (I am now 18, turning 19 next month). Although my family has always been very involved in folk music locally, I had never really participated in it myself— I would go to folk music events in the area with my family, such as the Spring Thing in Darlington which was organised by my granddad, but only to listen and not join in. Joining Cream Tees was the first real opportunity I had ever had to play folk music with people around my own age, some of whom I already was vaguely familiar with from school, and others who were completely new to me. Over time, we all got to know each other very well, and these days Cream Tees feels almost like a little family to me.
The other big thing that surprised me was how “cool” folk is! The events my family had taken me to had all been hours of guys several decades older than me singing ancient songs about things I had no experience of—you know, mining and stuff… There was no way 9-year-old me could find any of that relatable or compelling. But when I went to my first ever folk festival with Cream Tees (Towersey), where we both performed as a band and watched other amazing acts like Bellowhead, Bedlam, and the Dovetail Trio, I realised the folk scene was far more diverse than I had ever imagined!
As for the expectations of mine that were met, I can say pretty definitively now that playing in Cream Tees has made me a vastly more confident musician and performer. I am expecting that confidence to increase even further during my time working for Music at the Heart of Teesdale, especially when it comes to teaching and leading others. Hopefully this will be a fun process!
I was initially “recruited” to the band in year 7 after seeing them perform at my school’s winter concert. I had been impressed by the way they all remembered so many detailed tunes and arrangements without having any of it written down in front of them. They all seemed so confident! At that point I had little to no experience of playing music in a large group, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect at my first rehearsal—I was honestly just excited to be involved. The first thing that surprised me after a few sessions was the realisation of how difficult it is to fit into a group like this at first. It can be a long and arduous process to figure out where your place is and what your “job” in the ensemble is. After I had been consistently playing in the band for a few months, though, it became the highlight of my week (and still is)!
Since going to several more festivals over the years, there are certain faces that have become very familiar—Ian Stephenson, John Kirkpatrick, Nancy Kerr, and more—so it feels like we as a band have truly built connections with the people in the scene, and all of the cultural and historical knowledge that comes with them. This is especially true considering that a lot of these familiar figureheads have actually worked with us at some point, whether tutoring, hosting workshops, or helping us prepare for gigs.
