19th November 2024 - Jack Abbott MP welcomes Ed Sheeran and Lisa Nandy to Ipswich

Jack backstage with Lisa Nandy, listening to Ed Sheeran at The Baths, Ipswich

On 24th October, I spoke in a debate about the future of the grassroots music industry. Faced with huge pressures, it has been estimated that two venues are being forced to close every week.

I said that, if we reverse this current trajectory, it could put the game-changing music scene we have in Ipswich at risk. It could also mean that the up-and-coming generation of artists in our town lose their opportunity to perform, and we, in turn could miss out on discovery Suffolk's next Ed Sheeran.

On 19th November, I joined Ed himself for a very special homecoming gig, alongside the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Lisa Nandy, and hundreds of Ipswich schoolchildren at The Baths.

It was an opportunity to showcase the fantastic work Brighten the Corners, a local charity, are doing for education and careers in the creative arts. Brighten the Corners, through their New Gen and Tune Up teams, demonstrated all the training, education and volunteering opportunities they offer, not simply for performing artists, but also for the incredible range of backstage roles too.

Taking Ed and Lisa on a tour of their venues, Brighten the Corners were keen to underline how their ecosystem - from the Smokehouse, to St Stephen’s Church, to the Baths - helps support young people in learning the skills they need through their varied programme of live music events.

The visit culminated with a secret gig in front of pupils from across Ipswich, which finished with ‘Castle on the Hill’, an ode to Framlingham, Suffolk. Ed might now be one of the world’s biggest superstars, but he has never forgotten his roots.

But more broadly, for me, the visit reiterated two key truths. 

Firstly, that the creative arts are crucially important to a child’s education and must be accessible to everyone, irrespective of background or circumstance. They are an indispensable part of a child’s learning and development, and a vehicle for aspiration, opportunity and for social mobility.

Secondly, it hammered home that even a curriculum committed to music - including contemporary music - and to the creative arts cannot be confined to the classroom; creative arts must be taught creatively too.