The Glasshouse

A session for musicians to connect with and seek advice from some very insightful people in the industry. Come with some questions and remember you only have ten minutes (there won’t be time to listen to a track). You can book up to two ten-minute sessions with possible additional slots on the day.

Industry Experts

• Steve Mead
• Kim Macari
• Charlie Dancer
• Emily Jones
• Amy Pearce

STEVE MEAD
Steve Mead is Artistic Director/CEO and co-founder (in 1996) of Manchester Jazz Festival, where he has pioneered initiatives for talent and audience development and commissioning new work, and led on Arts Council England, Local Authority and Trust funding bids. Steve is also co-founder and job-share Creative Director for Jazz North, the ACE-funded jazz development agency for the north of England. Steve is Vice-Chair of the Jazz Promotion Network and sits on several advisory panels for Serious, PRS for Music Foundation and, previously, Jazz Services. Steve was a music assessor (and previously a Music Advisor) for Arts Council England until 2015.

KIM MACARI

Kim Macari is an artist and activist immersed in the jazz, improvised music and art worlds. The thread that ties together her work both on and off stage is her passionate belief in the strength of improvisation as a means of expression and a form of empowerment and freedom.
Currently she combines her performing and creative work with a range of industry positions including working for Arts Council England, chairing the Jazz Promotion Network, programming the Vortex Jazz Club and as a speaker & writer on a freelance basis both in the UK and abroad on topics including feminism and gender politics in the arts, protest art/cultural activism and diversity in the arts.

CHARLIE DANCER
Charlie is an ambitious music industry enthusiast, turning his hand from artist to band manager, promoter to tour booker, artist liaison to venue management and now – in his early twenties – has taking on the role as Talent Development Manager at Generator. Charlie looks after Tipping Point, Generator’s musical arm, curating live music showcases, music industry masterclasses, liaising with high profile guest speakers and advising and mentoring the very cream of the regions music crop.

EMILY JONES
Emily spent six years as Head of Programming for Cheltenham Jazz Festival in association with BBC Radio 2, and now works as Senior Producer at Sage Gateshead running artist development programmes and producing special projects. Prior to this she worked in programming across various genres at the Barbican Centre and Town Hall Symphony Hall, Birmingham. From 2016 to 2019, Emily was the first female Chair of the Jazz Promotion Network, a pan-national body representing those working in jazz in the UK and Ireland, and remains an active board member. She also served as Chair of Soul City Arts, a Birmingham organisation promoting diversity in the arts, and as a trustee of Engines Orchestra. Emily is an accredited career coach offering support to musicians and arts professionals, and is an alumni of Oxford Contemporary Music’s BOOM fellowship for creative producers. In her spare time, she can often be found behind the decks under the alias Echo Juliet.

AMY PEARCE
A consultant with a passion for jazz, Amy works with international festivals, artists, agents and managers on the creation and implementation of their strategic vision. She’s also a mentor for emerging producers and artists, Director of International Strategy for Edition Records and live event consultant for the new app, Jazzed. Across a 20-year career, Amy has been co-programmer of the London Jazz Festival and progamme consultant to Love Supreme and Gateshead International Jazz Festival. She has promoted hundreds of concerts across the country including key international artists such as Snarky Puppy, Robert Glasper and Esperanza Spalding, and been the executive producer on a string of major jazz events including the inaugural jazz Prom, the live shows of BBC4’s ground-breaking Jazz Britannia, the Jazz FM Awards, the BBC Jazz Awards and Ronnie Scott’s 60th Birthday Gala at the Royal Albert Hall.