A New Collaboration with Sound Factory: Growing Plymouth’s Music Community

Barbican Theatre is proud to announce a new partnership with Sound Factory, bringing grassroots live music and youth music activity into the heart of Plymouth for local and touring musicians, young people, schools and university students.

Through this collaboration, children, young musicians and grassroots acts will use Barbican Theatre’s studios and performance spaces to learn, rehearse, write and perform music. It also opens up the building as a welcoming place for Plymouth’s growing music community.

For parents and schools, it means more chances for young people to discover music, build confidence and work creatively with others. For musicians and bands, it means new rehearsal spaces, development support and opportunities to play live.

A Place for Emerging Bands and Grassroots Music

Barbican Theatre and Sound Factory will support new and developing bands in Plymouth.

Musicians of all ages will be able to use rehearsal spaces in the theatre to practise, write and develop new music. The aim is simple: to create a place where bands can experiment, meet other musicians and perfect their sound ready for the stage.

Live Grassroots Music in the Bar

Music audiences will soon start to see (and hear!) the results of this collaboration too.

Sound Factory will curate a series of live music nights in the theatre’s bar, creating an exciting and welcoming space for bands to perform and audiences to discover new music.

The first events in the series will include:

Friday 1st May - The Other Woman with support from The Kabins and Playwriter
Saturday 2nd May - Colour TV with support from Nick Diver and more to be announced.

More shows will be announced soon.

Making Music with School Children

A key part of the partnership focuses on children taking their first steps into music.

Sound Factory delivers Sound Factory Schools, a weekly programme of school-time workshops for children from local primary and secondary schools. Sessions take place in Barbican Theatre’s Music Studio and Rehearsal Studio, giving young participants the chance to learn instruments, write songs and make music together in a professional setting.

For many children, these sessions will be their first experience of playing music as part of a band.

Sound Factory has also loaned a number of instruments to Barbican Theatre, helping ensure young people who may not otherwise have access to equipment can take part. 

Supporting Young Musicians

The partnership will also strengthen Barbican Theatre’s work funded by Youth Music Trust’s Catalyser Fund, expanding the music activity available to young people across the city.

George Shelton from Sound Factory will work as a producer on the programme, helping shape sessions and activities that support young musicians as they develop their skills and confidence across Devon and Cornwall.

Together, the organisations want to create clear ways for young people to move from their first experience of music into performing, collaborating and developing their own sound.

Looking Ahead to Summer 2026

The partnership will continue to develop over the coming year.

Sound Factory will be a key partner in Barbican Theatre’s summer events, contributing music performances, workshops and creative activity across the programme.

Barbican Theatre will also support Sound Factory’s own festival in July 2026 at The Depo, strengthening connections across Plymouth’s music community. 

A Shared Commitment

This partnership reflects a shared commitment to supporting young people, musicians and the wider community to take part in music.

George Shelton, Sound Factory CEO, said:

“For a long time I’ve had a dream of creating a stronger music scene here in Plymouth, I wanted somewhere young people and bands can come together to make music, try things out and support each other.

When we started talking with Barbican Theatre, it just felt right. The building, the people and the shared belief in supporting young musicians makes it the perfect place to grow that vision. I’m really excited to see what we can build here together.”

Claire Honey, Barbican Theatre, said:

“Music has an incredible way of bringing people together and creating opportunities that can change the direction of a young person’s life.

We’re really excited to be working with Sound Factory to grow the opportunities available for young people in Plymouth – from primary school children discovering music for the first time, to emerging bands developing their sound and performing live.

This partnership also helps us make better use of our building as a home for grassroots creativity. By opening up our studios and performance spaces to musicians, young people and local artists, we can support the city’s music community to grow and thrive.”

Why This Matters at the Barbican

Although Barbican Theatre is known as a place for theatre and performance, music has always been part of the life of the building.

On any given day you might hear a young person testing out a drum beat for the first time, someone nervously stepping up to a microphone, or a group of young musicians working out a song together in the studio upstairs. Those moments, the noise, the laughter, the confidence building little by little, are a beautiful part of what happens here.

For us, it’s never just about performance. It’s about creating a space where people feel able to give something a go, express themselves and feel safe doing it.

Working with Sound Factory helps us deepen that part of our work. It means more young people can experience music in a supportive environment, more bands have a place to develop their sound, and more audiences can discover what Plymouth’s grassroots music scene has to offer.

Get Involved

If your child loves music, is curious about learning an instrument, or just wants to try something new, there are lots of ways to get involved.

Barbican Theatre runs a range of music and creative classes for young people, designed to help build skills, confidence and friendships through making music together.

Schools can also connect with Sound Factory Schools, which offers inspiring music workshops that bring instruments, songwriting and band skills directly to young people.

👉 Explore our music classes
👉 Find out more about Sound Factory Schools at www.soundfactoryschools.com

Together with Sound Factory, we’re excited to see more young people picking up instruments, stepping up to microphones, and discovering the joy of making music together.