We Out Here Festival is always one of the big weekends in the calendar for all of us at Warriors. Over the years we have programmed hundreds of our young musicians across different stages and been able to watch some of our incredible alumni headline there.
But this year is going to be even more special as we announce that the Big Top stage has been renamed. Ladies and gentlemen… welcome to The Tomorrow’s Warriors Big Top!
“I am very excited that Tomorrow’s Warriors are joining us for another year at WOH – their importance cannot be overstated. Be it in the future talent they are bringing through or the incredible names that have come before, they are a vital part of our cultural scene. So much so, we have renamed the Big Top Stage in their honour!” Gilles Peterson
Tomorrow’s Warriors Co-Founder Janine Irons OBE picks up the story of our involvement at We Out Here:
“For us as an organisation, this is amazing recognition of the impact so many of our musical family have had on the scene. I can’t wait to see our young musicians and emerging artists perform in the Tomorrow’s Warriors Big Top! In a strange way, this was almost destined to happen, as it feels like Tomorrow’s Warriors has been part of the We Out Here story pretty much from the beginning.
The We Out Here Brownswood album released in 2018 featured a whole stack of our alumni; Shabaka, Nubya, Ezra Collective, Moses Boyd, Theon Cross, Joe Armon-Jones, and Kokoroko, and for a lot of people this was either their first exposure to what was being called ‘the London Jazz explosion’, or it cemented what many others already knew… the British jazz scene was strong, but here was a generation doing something a bit special.
We got a call the next year that Gilles was launching a festival and would we like to have some of our young musicians playing there. We weren’t quite sure what to expect, it felt like a brave time to be launching a festival in an already crowded events calendar and, little did we know, it was only eight months before Covid would see lockdown hit the UK.
But of course, we wanted to be part of We Out Here and we were excited to have the opportunity for our young musicians to play not just at a festival, but at a festival that was there to celebrate jazz and the wider musical community.
A big part of the Tomorrow’s Warriors ethos is ‘each one, teach one’. Share your learnings, pass it on, help the next generation. At We Out Here, the young musicians that we programme on the Lush Life and Big Top stages share the festival billing with the musicians that passed through Warriors before them, that have helped shape the British jazz scene over the last 10-15 years and have inspired them. They can see what they want to be, and that is such an important step in helping encourage and develop young musicians, particularly for those from diverse and sometimes challenging backgrounds.
That first We Out Here in 2019 was a wet and pretty cold affair, with the weather only brightening up on the Sunday afternoon, but the line-up and vibe was incredible. We Out Here had arrived! Our youngsters could say they had played the same festival as Comet Is Coming, Ezra, Blue Lab Beats, Nubya, Zara McFarlane and more. At that point they didn’t need the sun, they were already shining!
2020 was survival mode. Lockdown, no events, no festivals, an existential threat to many cultural organisations. People missed live music, that togetherness and energy. However, despite what were some very difficult moments for both Tomorrow’s Warriors and We Out Here, we were all back together in 2021.
Tomorrow’s Warriors has always been a musical family. And, returning to We Out Here in 2021, when many venues were still struggling to get back on their feet, reinforced that. Seeing people that you hadn’t seen for eighteen months. Bumping into musicians and friends that you hadn’t been able to catch up with for ages. Sharing experiences… feeling the music!
Fast forward to 2024, and what will be the fifth We Out Here, we are so excited to not only be taking part in a festival that is shaping so many memories for so many people, but also to be hosting the Tomorrow’s Warriors Big Top.
Being able to develop your skills as a live performer is an essential element for any young musician. To be able to do that at a festival is a fantastic step up for an emerging artist. You want to capture the audience’s attention from the first bar of your set, give them something they’re going to love, and at the same time you need to hold down your nerves and channel you adrenalin. It never ceases to amaze me how, year after year, our young Warriors step onto the stage at We Out Here and they GROW.
They grow because they are amongst family, the Warriors family of emerging artists that are treading the same path as them over the course of the weekend. But also, the elders, the Warriors who came before them, who are now headlining the main stage… they can see who they want to be.
For this to all be happening alongside the family of like-minded music heads that make We Out Here such a special vibe is a unique opportunity.
So come along and check out what will be our biggest ever line-up in the TOMORROW’S WARRIORS BIG TOP and pop over to the Near Mint Record Store to visit our merch stand and say hello!”