Coldplay pays for young musicians to use studio

Coldplay paid for young people to get to experience a professional music studio

Coldplay has donated to a charity to allow young musicians to use a professional music studio.

The band rehearsed their headline set for Glastonbury Festival at Frome's Cheese and Grain venue last summer and donated signed CDs and vinyl records.

The proceeds went to support the charity Young People Frome, which is using the money to let young musicians record a song at the Cheese and Grain studio.

James Brookes, music leader at the charity, said: "The idea is we give them a taste of what they potentially could do as a career and if they wanted to pursue that further, we can support them."

Mr Brookes said it means a lot for young people to be able to come into the studio

Steve Macarthur, director of Frome's Cheese and Grain, said Coldplay had booked out the venue to rehearse ahead of Glastonbury Festival 2024.

He added that during that time, the band went down to the local record shop Raves From The Grave and signed every CD and every Coldplay vinyl in the shop to raise money for Young People Frome.

The charity is using the money to offer 10 sessions throughout the year on a Sunday.

Ines, 12, said she came to the session to experience what professional musicians get to experience first hand.

"You see it on TV but you don't feel it as much as you feel it when you're in a studio," she said.

"It feels nice to know that there have been lots of different celebrities recording here.

"Coldplay came here and Coldplay is my favourite band. There's a guitar signed by Coldplay in the other room and I got to touch it and that was incredible."

Ines said it felt nice to be in a space that celebrities had been in

Alice, 12, added: "I'm not famous but I got the chance to come here and that's just really cool."

Mr Brookes, who leads the sessions, said it "means a lot" for the young people to be able to come into the studio space.

"It's not often that young people can come into these environments and have a certain amount of freedom to express themselves creatively and to work together," he said.

Mr Macarthur added: "There's a good chance some of the young people will be performing at our smaller venue in a couple of years time and maybe on our main stage a while after that."

After the sessions, the young people have a recording of a song they get to take home with them.