The Basement Door is a local charity that organises gigs for young, often unsigned, bands and solo musicians and provides training sessions for young people to become volunteers with the charity. These training sessions give the volunteers the skills they need in order to help out with the gigs, including setting up equipment, using a mixing desk, using lighting desks, organising events, ticket sales as well as many other useful skills. They hold training sessions once a month. The Basement Door gigs are reasonably priced and always incredibly enjoyable. 


On Friday 4th November, The Basement Door hosted an acoustic gig at The Vineyard Community Centre in Richmond. The lineup consisted of Mimi, Clara, Rohan, Emma and Olivia & Krystyna, six incredibly talented young musicians. I went to show support for Emma, my cousin. Each performer performed four or five songs, with every one of them showcasing their unique talents and musical taste whilst also performing some well-known songs. Most of the acts performed some of their own original songs which were fantastic! 


 Acoustic nights are always filled with cool people and good times. This was particularly evident during Emma’s performance of Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus and she had asked some of her friends to get up and perform it with her. This group rendition of Teenage Dirtbag was enjoyable and lighthearted, showing us all why music is such an important part of all of our lives. Gigs are such an important part of so many people’s lives and the sense of community created at The Basement Door’s gigs is unrivalled. 


Some of my personal highlights of the evening included Can I Be Him? by James Arthur performed by Rohan, Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus performed by Emma, Redd, Lauren, Jess and Bug, Back To Black by Amy Winehouse performed by Olivia and Krystyna, Salem written and performed by Emma, I Wonder Why by Joesef performed by Olivia and Krystyna. The gig was incredibly enjoyable and I met some incredible people there! 


The Basement Door can be found on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. Visit https://www.thebasementdoor.org/ for information on how to get involved.