The Live Music Society is the place to enjoy music, perform, or help bring about unforgettable music-based events at UCL. As the UCL Arts Society of the Year 2019-20, we are a vibrant and diverse community, providing a great platform for anyone who wants to get involved in music, either as a performer, technician or listener.
Our goal is simple: to offer you a platform to enjoy, listen, perform and tech music during your time at UCL. There is something for every skill level and every musical taste in our large number of events and socials.
🌟 EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES 🌟:
We offer a number of opportunities for performers, technicians, and enjoyers to share your talents and love for music. These include:
- 🎶 Gigs at our home turf in Mully’s Basement Bar where you can sign up to perform alongside other musicians of your choice in a lively environment among friends. Some memorable gigs each year include Extravabandza, our flagship freshers' battle-of-the-bands style event, and gigs for any occasion such as the Halloween Gig and Heatbreaker's Gig.
- 🎤 We also have more intimate, relaxed sets at our Open Mic Nights, which happen fotnightly in the laid back yet vibrant atmosphere of the Institute Bar. Solo, duo artists and more are welcome here where you can sign up in advance or walk on to play if the stage is free!
- 🎹 We hold Jams for musicians of all levels who are looking to meet like-minded musicians and create music in a spontaneous setting. These can take place anywhere from Mully's to Conference Rooms in the Bloomsbury building. Some of these jams, like the Build-a-Band Jams provide an opportunity for those looking to form a band to play at gigs!
- 🥁 Every year we proudly form our very own Live Music Society House Band. The House Band is easy to audition for, with a rotating roster, and adorns many a UCL event. From House Band, musicians have the opporutnity to audition for our Function Band, who are given the opportunity to perform at many external events for the university and other societies.
- 🎧 If you are interested in the music tech side of things, feel free to speak to one of our Technical Officers and attend our Tech Workshops, where you will be taught everything you need to know about keeping all these amazing events running. Our tehnical officers are the backbone of all the events, and are very friendly and would be happy to show you what teching for Live Music is like.
- 🎸Rhapsody is our award-winning annual headline showcase at London's Bloomsbury Theatre, featuring over 100 performers in over 20 songs with a hedonistic display of lights, smoke and quality music.
If all you are looking for is a space to rehearse, we are fortunate enough to have the Soundproof Room (SPR), located in the basement of the Lewis Building next to Mully's, and it is bookable by our members. The room is equipped with a PA, mics, drum kit, guitar and bass amplifiers, piano and keyboard – and is the perfect space to practice on campus. Once you have purchased standard membership, you can access the portal found on our website, and here.
🌟 COMMUNITY AND SOCIALS🌟:
We pride ourselves on the community we build, particularly for such a large society, and we firmly believe that participating in and enjoying music requires community as much as performances. The society is a great way of bringing people together even in non-performance environments.
- 🎶 Make sure to keep an eye out for all our socials, which will include: Album listening parties, Live Music fammily events, pub quizzes, nights out and many more!
- 🎤 We also host dedicated events for underrepresented and marginalised groups, such as but not limited to our Black History Month Open Mic, This Girl Can and International Open Mic Nights.
- 🎹 You can also look forward to collaborations and chances to perform with the other amazing music societies here at UCL such as Jazz Society, Musical Theatre, Music Society and more.
- 💃 If you fancy a chance to dress up and enjoy music in an elegant yet fun environment, look no firther than our annual music ball, Musicality, held in collaboration with other music societies. This is a night to drink if you please, dance, and even perform for the other attendees. One of the most magical nights of the year for sure!
Our lovely committee will be present at all our activities. They are a great source of knowledge about gigging around London, university and society mechanics, and musical information in general – and are eager to help you out. Should you be interested in forming a band, we also moderate the UCL Musician’s Noticeboard, a fantastic way to get in touch with new bandmates and musicians.
All of our members vary considerably in their musical background, and even if you already consider yourself a virtuoso, or are just starting out in music, you are very welcome to come to one of our usual haunts to play a few songs with us, have a go at mixing a band, or to simply have a listen and enjoy the night.
While all of our gigs and events are free to attend, after Freshers' Fortnight only those who have purchased standard membership may perform and tech. For more specific information on booking the SPR, Rhapsody, and all of our shows and events, please visit our website. To keep up with what we currently have on, please visit our social media pages, especially our Instagram @ucllivemusic and our Facebook Page. If you have any questions, feel free to drop us a DM or contact us at su-livemusic@ucl.ac.uk and we would be happy to answer.
We look forward to welcoming you to our society!