Episode 4 Music City

Hi, I'm Katy B and I love music.

And I'm taking a group of Londonderry kids

who all love music, too, and giving them an opportunity to perform

on the biggest stages I can find.

We take talented young musicians

more used to performing in their bedrooms

and put them in front of an audience of thousands.

Big names...

big performances...

-and plenty of passion.

-Woo!

This is Music City.

I'm in Derry, which this year is UK City of Culture.

This means its calendar is packed with world-class events.

The city is determined that Derry's young people

get a chance to be involved,

and have created an initiative called The Music Promise.

As part of that, we scoured Derry's schools

to find 13 keen young musicians

to give them the chance to up their game,

work with some of the artists visiting this year...

I'm already liking your hand position, that's very good.

-How are you? I'm Amelia.

-..and perform on the biggest stages

Hi!

MUSIC: "Lights On" by Katy B

'I love music myself,

'and as a recording artist, I've been lucky enough

'to be able to make a life out of it.'

# I keep on moving with the lights on

# So come and play me just one more song

# I keep on moving... # 'I can't wait to be involved.'

I'd love to be here all year, but I've got gigs and commitments

all over the world, so Derry musicians

Glenn Rosborough and Jenny Grant are here to help me out.

# And when you start to shake

# I'll be there for you... #

Glenn plays in Wyldling,

one of Northern Ireland's most promising bands...

The spark of creativity they have

really reignites the spark that you have,

so I'm really forward to seeing where this is going to go.

..and Jenny is a leading Derry harpist and music teacher.

It's really inspiring to think

that these kids really have so much potential,

so I'm really, really excited to see what they're going to come up with.

It's 14-year-old Darrel's turn to start his Music City journey.

Darrel loves playing piano and has dreams of making it big.

I'd love to become a famous composer, go around the world.

He spends at least two hours a day practising on the old family piano

under the stairs and loves nothing more than composing his own tunes.

Music's so important to me, cos it's in me blood.

But it's not a love shared by his ten-year-old brother Tyrese.

Hey, messing me!

Go to your room now.

Mum Sharon encourages his piano practice as much as she can,

but she thinks that he could be putting just as much effort

into his homework.

Well, I keep telling him, "You need to study, as well,"

and that's something he's not doing

I prefer to play piano instead of schoolwork and homework,

and go through music.

Darrel, I would think, is very obsessed with the piano.

You know, because when it comes to his school work,

even when I go to interviews with the teachers,

they're actually saying he's daydreaming in class.

And you don't realise it's me who's...

-You're just saying, "Oh, you don't revise," and...

-But you don't.

-But I'm starting to!

-Yes...

-You can't see that!

You've this weird idea that you can go into your exam

-and pass it without studying.

-I don't have that idea! I don't have!

So, what are you going to do about it?

Work harder.

Hmm...I dunno. He doesn't sound that interested to me -

I think I'd better go round and have a chat.

Hi!

Ahh, thanks for having me here.

Cool. So, how old is your piano?

It's about 70 years old, it's very old.

And did it belong to anyone before you?

Yeah, me greatpapa had this, then it came to me Papa, like, me, grandda.

It's a hard one to tune, like.

-Yeah.

-You know, you won't get it spot on.

It's been in the family, so it's not going to get dumped.

-No.

-Like, it's...

-It's sentimental value

-Yeah.

-So, would you play me something?

-Yeah.

I've writ a couple of songs now. They're...not too good.

-They're just a couple of melodies, like this...

-Yeah.

HE PLAYS MELODY

'It may be an old piano, but it still does the job

'when Darrel composes his very own music.'

-It's kind of...

-It's lovely.

-I got this...

What you talking about, "They're not too good"?

That's amazing.

'Darrel's own compositions sound great.

'It's obvious he puts the work in,

'but mum Sharon wants to talk about the work he's NOT doing.'

But you see, with your music and stuff,

you would have needed to study, as well?

-I always knew that music was, like, what I wanted to do.

-Yeah.

Definitely. And I remember I didn't do my, um, like, maths homework.

-I failed maths...

-Uh-huh.

-..and then I had to go back

to college when I was in sixth form,

-to go and do every evening to go and do my maths classes.

-Right, OK.

-Really, I should have done my maths.

-Do you hear that, Darrel?

Because Darrel has this love for music

and that he wants to go professional and everything,

but that's what I'm trying to get through to him -

you need to study, as well.

-if he doesn't get his maths, I'm going with him.

-Aww.

And we're going to nightclass together,

which I think he might find embarrassing.

-That's what my mum did!

-Is that right, did she go with you?

She used to give me a lift, yeah. So, just, like, yeah, so...

So, we'll do your maths together.

'If doing maths classes with your mum

'isn't enough to get you studying, I don't know what is.

'Darrel has enormous talent,

'but I think he needs someone to guide him to the next level.'

Another Music City kid starting her journey is 12-year-old Chloe.

Chloe loves to sing, but up until this year,

she has struggled to turn her passion for music into reality.

But that has all changed this year with Derry being City Of Culture.

A big part of it is all about getting as wide a range of people

involved in music as possible,

and Chloe has grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

She's part of the city youth choir

that's been performing at major City Of Culture events all year.

It was amazing - I would do it again any day. I loved it.

It was really good.

-SINGS:

-Valerie...

'But Chloe has a very special reason for wanting to get up and sing.'

'My mammy played the violin, she sang.

'She was very musical, like.'

but she passed away in June.

Just June just past.

# Oh, if you could see me now... #

She inspires me, and I'd love to turn out like her,

in terms of education and stuff.

With no father on the scene as well, it has been a tough year for Chloe.

But she is being supported

both by the Western Health and Social Services Trust

and her friends.

Singing in the choir has meant a lot to her,

but I think the time is right for this girl to find her own voice.

# I've been thinking 'bout all the things I'm searching for

# 20 years from now... #

As a first step, I've organised for her to meet

one of her musical heroes, Amelia Lily.

I'm trying to figure out what to wear.

I don't want to look too dressy

and I don't want to look too causal, so...

I never thought in a million years I'd ever meet Amelia Lily.

Ever, even when I was watching X Factor. No!

# Oh, you bring me joy You bring me sadness

# So you bring the love So forget all the madness... #

You're on tour at the minute with Girls Aloud.

I am. I never thought it would have happened so quick.

-What age are you now?

-I'm 18.

-You're 18.

And you're on stage tonight in Belfast,

and tomorrow evening at 7:35, you're going along to the Odyssey.

Hello, Chloe. How are you?

-Nice to meet you. I'm Amelia.

-Hi!

-I've heard you're a big fan of me.

-Yeah.

-I like your jumper!

-Thank you!

-I like your jeans, as well, you've got style.

-Thank you.

Sit down and talk to me, yeah?

So, I've come to see you today, to give you a boost.

This is, like, one tip I'll tell you, and...

Never, ever give up on whatever you want to do.

Whether you want to be a singer, whether you want to play the violin

whether you want to be a doctor, whatever you want to do in life,

don't let anybody tell you what to do.

And if you want to do it, you stick at it,

cos one day, you know, you could be sat where I am.

So, give me a cuddle...

-And I hope that this little chat's helped you, yeah?

-Yeah.

# Oh, you bring me joy You bring me sadness... #

With that advice to set her on her way, I've got big plans for Chloe.

IRISH FOLK MUSIC PLAYS

Last time, I met 14-year-old fiddle player Conall.

More used to playing to his number one superfan...

That dog's dancing!

I've organised for him to take centre stage

at the All-Ireland Fleadh.

400,000 people are expected and he is one of the festival highlights -

playing alongside Cara Dillon.

He's been putting in some serious hours learning his piece.

I've been practising hard, and...

I'm really looking forward to it now, but I'm still a bit scared.

That's the poster.

18.50 for a ticket!

God, she must be really big.

I'm only realising how big it's going to be, because it's sold out.

But time for practise is over.

Conall heads to the concert hall, with grandad Tommy,

who is being supportive, as always.

Is that a Cara Dillon haircut you've got, eh?

Shut up!

You don't have hair to cut.

As night falls, with every last seat filled for Cara Dillon's concert,

the enormity of what he has taken on seems to be hitting home.

It's a big crowd.

APPLAUSE

The performance gets under way.

Waiting in the wings - things seem to be warming up.

There's a bit of an issue - it's too warm.

So your hands get sweaty and your fingers are slipping

when you're playing, so I hope that just doesn't happen.

My big performance and that happens? God.

Slippery fingers or not, Conall will just have to get on with the show.

This is it, ready to go.

We've got a very special guest here tonight. Um, he's a young lad

and he's a only 14. Do you want to come on out here, Conall?

Come on!

APPLAUSE

And tonight he's going to perform Eirigh suas a Stoirin with us.

So, there you go. Give it up for Conall. Woo!

SHE SINGS IN GAELIC

-Woo!

-APPLAUSE

Oh, it was brilliant! Class.

My God, never done something like that before. Amazing.

Got three rounds of applause.

I never knew it was going to be that good, actually.

I want to do that again.

And again and again

I think he was fantastic.

It was really brilliant and I think it just added

to the excitement of tonight, you know?

It's a real big deal here and for a young local lad to come out

and do that is just so brilliant.

I couldn't have done that when I was 14.

-We were nearly crying!

-Crying on the front row!

I could get used to this.

Oh!

Give us a hug, give us a hug! Brilliant.

I'm probably more excited than you are, you know?

Absolutely blew me away. It blew me away, that ending.

Blew me away.

I think Chloe is ready to step up to the next level

and find her own voice.

Jenny has some exciting news for her.

Chloe, I think you're ready, now, to step away from the choir,

move out on your own.

And we've got something really exciting lined up for you.

We've arranged that a Derry Band

called Paddy Nash and The Happy Enchiladas

are going to back you up and you're going to be singing

at a festival called Stendhal Festival,

and there's going to be a lot of people there,

-singing any song you want.

-Oh, my God!

5,000 people at the festival.

# Aaah! #

With their blend of folk, pop and rock,

Paddy Nash and the Happy Enchiladas are a popular live band

and they will be playing at the Stendhal Festival

in just three weeks.

-It's amazing isn't it?

-That's amazing.

Oh, Chloe! Honestly, it's just... I'm so excited for you.

-I want to cry!

-Aww!

Going from singing in a group to singing solo

is a definite step up and can be quite daunting,

so I'm sending Chloe to see Street Theatre Director Nicky Harley

-I'm relying on you to give me... confidence!

-OK.

Well, if you can do some of the things we do today,

you'll be able to do anything.

MUSIC: "Mahna Mahna" by The Muppets

-# Mahna mahna

-Doo doo doo-doo-doo... #

Confidence is the name of the game when you get up on your own

for the first time in front of an audience,

and Nicky's exercises are great

at helping her get rid of her inhibitions.

MUPPET SCATS

# Um-ah went the little green frog one day

# Um-ah went the little green frog... #

-# Mahna mahna

-Doo doo doo-doo-doo... #

Good skills!

-# Mahna mahna

-Doo doo doo-doo-doo

# Doo-doo-doo... #

But it's a workshop with a twist.

So, you've a young girl who is going to do some street theatre.

Chloe is going to have to try it all out for real.

We've got an audience here. We'll try and gather them round.

# Um-ah went the little green frog one day

# Um-ah went the little green frog

# Um-ah went the little green frog one day

# And the frog went Um-um-ahhh! #

Well, if you can do that, Chloe, Stendhal should be a breeze.

I think I've more confidence now,

cos it doesn't matter what people think, it's just - you're doing it,

and at least you have the guts to do it.

Chloe has to choose a song to sing at the Stendhal Festival,

and, luckily, hasn't gone for Little Green Frog!

I'll sing along beside you,

cos you need to get those two wee lines right here. Try it again.

Instead, she'll perform the smash hit, Beneath You're Beautiful,

by Emeli Sande and Labrinth.

She's taking it to rehearse with Paddy Nash and the Happy Enchiladas

for the very first time.

# See beneath you're perfect

# Take it off, now, boy

# Take it off, now... #

I just want to try the chorus,

cos there's just something not sounding right in that "Take it off."

OK, start again, now, at "You've carried on so long."

-OK.

-And you're just going to look at me

and you're going to trust yourself, right?

-HE CHUCKLES

-I know, I know.

I know, I'm laughing, cos it's true.

It's funny, cos it's true, then.

-OK.

-And we're going to get a wee groove on, here,

so we're going to forget about everything and just do it, right?

-Just going to look at you and no-one else.

-Right.

Go for it - three, four...

# You've built your wall so high

# That no-one could climb it

# But I'm going to try

# If you will let me... #

Chloe seems to be struggling with the original key the song is in.

Paddy has an idea that just might work.

-SHE PLAYS KAZOO

-Oh, my God!

-So you're going for the Enchilada version, then?

-Aye.

Good stuff.

# You tell all the boys "No"

# Makes you feel good, yeah

They were all Grumpy Burritos there, for a minute.

Now they all Happy Enchiladas again.

Good job.

The Paddy Nash spin on the song seems to be working.

Chloe has a week of hard practise ahead, to get her tune nailed.

There we go.

The last time we saw the Music City group all together,

they were getting creative to kick-start some fresh ideas

for a cover version of Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol.

They're going to record their version of the tune

and shoot a video, but first they need to work out

how all the different instruments and voices

are going to work together.

Glenn and Jenny have assembled the group over the weekend

to work on the arrangement, but time is ticking.

Cool!

We've only got one more set of practice to go through

before we go into the studio,

so really, now, what they need to do is start coming up with ideas,

because the last thing we can do is go into the studio

and start wasting time trying to come up with ideas.

All right?

Let's take it from that chorus, so it's after two...

# If I lay... #

Right?

# If I just lay here

# Would you lie with me... #

It's still a bit ropey. Every time we do it, it changes slightly,

and that's not good enough, you know?

Most of them haven't been in a recording studio before,

so that will throw them a bit,

so there is a lot of work that needs to be done before then.

So, does anyone have any questions, or any ideas?

Anything that they want to bring forward? Cos now's a good time.

Can we make the song a little bit faster, a little tiny bit faster?

Aye. Because that's...

-That's too slow.

-Yeah.

-Like this...

-HE PLAYS A FASTER BEAT

-Yeah.

Music City drummer Jason has made a suggestion

that starts to get the group owning the track.

I love the intro - like, the harp and the violin.

How it just comes in so softly, and then it builds up,

and you've got that amazing beat coming on -

it's really, like... gets you really pumped.

That tempo change and that stop - perfect ideas

I can't stop thinking about how great Darrel's piano playing is,

and the time feels right for him to step it up a notch

Jenny is taking him to meet Neil Cowley.

Neil is City of Culture's musician-in-residence.

Neil has played on some of the biggest hits

of this century, working with people like Emeli Sande and Adele.

# Could have had it all

# Rolling in the deep... #

I've heard about you. I've heard all about you. The word is out

in the city about you. So is it true to say you're classically trained?

Yeah.

There is no better person for Darrel to work with

and help him determine

whether his dream of making a life in music

is realistic. And for once,

Darrel has done his homework and knows exactly what to ask for.

I used to play Rolling In The Deep.

-Right.

-You played that one?

-I did play on that.

I was watching on YouTube.

Did you watch that clip of me

-filming it in the studio?

-Go on, play it.

-You want me to do it?

-Yeah.

-So, do you play that one?

-No, I used to.

-What do you mean, "You used to"?

Why don't we re-learn Rolling In The Deep?

-Yeah.

-Is that a good idea. Cos I think that's what I played on it.

-Something like that.

-Yeah, that's it.

Yeah, I'm glad you're here to tell me!

I'm already...

I'm already liking your hand position, that's very good.

So you play that part, I'll play this part.

Two, three, and...

THEY PLAY: "Rolling In The Deep"

A flat major.

If you can do that with the fourth finger, that'd be perfect.

Three and...

That's it.

-NEIL HUMS

-Perfect

Well done. Yeah, you got it, you got it straight away.

But what's amazing about you is your technique.

You know you've got that

and you've got that over 95% of people.

You've got a classical technique. You're very fluid,

you jump from one end of the piano

to the other, no bother at all. You...

You could... You've got everything within your grasp technically,

for you to do exactly what you want

for the rest of your life. I'm telling you, you really have,

you know, because it's just all there, it's all natural.

You know, it's been drilled into him or whatever,

but it's working beautifully. It's possible that the only area

that you need to think about and develop is your ear.

And if you start just, sort of, messing round, just playing...

If Neil is telling him he's good, he really must have something special.

Neil is a great teacher, and I know that Darrel wants to

compose his own tunes, so hopefully they can continue to work together.

He reminds me of myself at that age. I think he's, um...

It's his passion for it that completely overwhelms you, you know.

Anything you like, as long as it's those notes.

Keep going.

IMPROVISED MELODY

That's your voice.

Yeah.

That's beautiful. That's great. You know,

you made all that up, and it all made sense,

and it's beautiful, and melodic

and it's lovely. You're a jazz musician.

FOLK MUSIC PLAYS

The time has come for Chloe to take the stage

with Paddy Nash & The Happy Enchiladas.

ROCK MUSIC PLAYS

Her gig with the band is at the Stendhal Festival of Art,

which gathers all things creative from across Ireland

for a full and fun weekend of art,

performance and, of course, music.

With the festival in full swing, Chloe arrives for her gig.

I'm just backstage behind the Stendhal tent, where I'm performing.

And I've just spotted the artists' hospitality tent.

I think you can get, like, tea and stuff there.

I think it's special that I'm at festival and it's my first festival.

Unfortunately, my mum can't be here with us, but, um, everything I do

basically is for her and I'm sure she's looking down.

And I can't wait to just go on and make her proud so...

I'm very excited.

I choose Beneath Your Beautiful because, in school,

I was always bullied and I was never properly...

I was never... I was seen as invisible.

I was never seen as somebody.

So it says... It says like "beneath you are beautiful",

and everybody's beautiful in some way, so...

# I'll see you in the sun... #

The Paddy Nash gig is well under way.

In just a few moments,

she'll see if her three weeks of hard work have paid off.

She has never sung solo before in front of an audience.

The crowd is massive now.

I didn't know. I didn't expect it to be this big -

obviously a lot of people know Paddy Nash.

A very special guest today.

Folks put your hands together for young Chloe.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Hello everybody!

# You let all the girls go

# Makes you feel good, don't it?

# Behind your Broadway show

# I heard a voice say "Please don't hurt me"

# You've carried on so long

# You couldn't stop if you tried it

# Oo-ooh oo-hoo

# You've built your wall so high

# No-one could climb it

# But I'm going to try

# Would you let me see beneath your beautiful?

# Would you let me see beneath your perfect?

# Take it off now, girl Take it off now, girl

# I want to see inside

# Would you let me see beneath your beautiful tonight? #

CHEERING

Hi, everybody!

That was absolutely amazing. That was just... Oh, it was unreal.

I really didn't expect that big of a crowd.

Oh, it was absolutely amazing.

# You've carried on so long

# You couldn't stop if you tried it... #

I actually give all the credit to my mum, I think,

cos she's just, she's, kind of, like

my lucky charm, she's just always there.

Hope she's proud of me, like. I'm really proud of myself, as well.

# See beneath your beautiful?

# Would you let me see beneath... #

-Did you enjoy that?

-Yeah, brilliant. Oh, it was absolutely amazing.

You were fantastic

'I thought she was brilliant.'

It was a great feeling playing it on stage, buzzing off the crowd.

She... Fair play to her, she nailed it.

I don't think anybody has heard that song like that before.

We should record it. We should release it!

I know. I'm so grateful for the...

-50/50.

-All right.

-50/50.

-Definitely.

Next time... Will Connor pull off his lambeg dance track?

I'm kind of nervous, like, cos no-one's ever heard it.

I hope it's a good reaction.

Will Darrell make it to the stage?

I feel sick. I'm feeling nervous - really nervous.

-And the Music City kids say goodbye.

-Is this the end now?

-Is that it?