Music manager nominated for national accolade

Band manager and Teesside University graduate Henry Carden has been nominated for a prestigious live music business award.

He is in the running for the accolade of Indie Promoter of the Year (Local Impact) in the Live Music Business Awards, run by Live UK publication for professionals working in the creative industries and live music business.

Henry, 32, from Middlesbrough, who graduated with a First Class BA (Hons) Media Studies this summer, co-manages one of the region’s brightest new bands, Cattle & Cane and is involved in organising Twisterella Music Festival.

Nominations for the award were voted for by music industry professionals, with a shortlist of the top three announced later this month before the winner is revealed at the Live UK Music Business Awards in London in October. The award aims to recognise the promoter who has had the greatest impact on a particular city or town.

Henry said: 'Whether I have had a great impact on Middlesbrough is not really for me to say, but I have certainly given it a good go. Over the past few years, I have been lucky enough to bring bands such as The 1975, Wolf Alice, Alt-J, Frank Turner, Field Music, VANT, Clean Cut Kid and many more to venues such as The Westgarth Social Club and The Townhouse.

'Middlesbrough is a brilliant place to see the best new bands before they become massive and as well as the bigger names, I have also worked closely with brilliant local bands such as Mouses, Avalanche Party and Cape Cub, as well as Cattle & Cane, who are all making waves nationally.”

He added: 'I've been involved with Cattle & Cane since they first formed and started managing them on a formal basis in February last year. They’re currently in Belgium working on their brand new album and I’m incredibly excited about how things are shaping up. I've recently been setting up their first ever tour of Germany and then they’re finishing off the year with their biggest headline show to date at The Middlesbrough Empire in December.'

Henry, who is involved in Twisterella with fellow local music promotor Andy Carr, said: 'We felt the town’s thriving music scene deserved a new music festival. As a small independent festival, we don't have a massive budget, but we're really proud to have brought hotly tipped breaking bands to the festival, which is now in its third year.

'The award nomination left me feeling surprised and proud. I don't put on gigs to get recognition or make money, I put on gigs because I love live music and want to see bands I like playing in my hometown.'

He added: 'Teesside University was the obvious choice for me, to balance existing commitments with studying. But it wasn't all merely down to convenience. I went to open days at other regional universities too, but the media studies degree at Teesside offered modules which were much more in line with my interests and more importantly, the staff I spoke to were all incredibly approachable and knowledgeable.

'The course covered a number of areas and while I chose to focus on the more theoretical modules, other students were able to tailor the course to their own interests, whether that was journalism, blogging or production. Being able to add theory to a decade of practical experience has been vital in opening up bigger and better opportunities.'

Henry, who is now planning postgraduate study, said: 'I could have quite happily carried on working within the music industry at the level I was at, but my time at Teesside has equipped me with new skills, experiences and knowledge which I will need in the coming years.'

More information about the awards.

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• media studies
• undergraduate