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Luke Joynes

Interview: Luke Joynes

641 640 Ventnor Fringe

Eighteen year old, Luke Joynes, is right at the beginning of his career on the Isle of Wight. Luke is a prime example of a young person just finding his feet in the creative industry. I thought it was about time to find out how Luke feels about beginning his career over here and what he sees for the future.

Hey Luke, so how are you involved in the Fringe?
I coordinate the Free Fringe side of the program, which involves programming all the people who applied to play at the Fringe for free and curating where they perform and who else they perform with.

How did you get into all of this?
In 2015 I did the Fringe Review [Luke was our journalist for the Free Fringe, weird how that’s come about]. Then last year I did a gig of my own at St. Catherine’s Church, now this year I’ve been promoted, and here I am now.

You’ve been working at Ventnor Exchange this year, what have you been doing?
Yeah, we’ve just been making sure that everything is in place for this week and I think we’ve done a pretty good job apart from the weather, but that’s a bit out of our control.

As a young person on the Isle of Wight do you plan to continue your career on the Island?
I do plan to continue living here, obviously it’s a bit difficult to make it in music here purely because of the logistics side of it. It costs so much to get people over here from the mainland, but then you have things like the Ventnor International Festival and Strings that’s just opened up in Newport shows that there is a demand for original live music on the Isle of Wight. Perhaps I’d like a slice of that too.

What other festivals have you worked with?
I have a festival news blog, we cover Isle of Wight festivals and I’ve done a bit of PR for Jack Up The 80s.

You’re working in curating events at the moment, is that what you’d like to continue doing?
Yeah, so I run my own business called Atmos Music, currently got gigs with Vant, Clean Cut Kid, S Club and Blazin’ Squad coming up.

Where are these events?
Vant and Clean Cut Kid are in Southampton and then Blazin’ Squad are at Strings in Newport, and that’s mid-September. I also manage events for the Blacksheep in Ryde.

Do you find finances difficult at the moment with the gigs that you’re putting on?
I find it more difficult on the Island than I do in Southampton, simply because there is a student population in Southampton and you also don’t have to pay ferry prices.

What would be your dream band to put on, and what venue would you put them on at?
That’s a tough one. I’m really into Everything Everything at the moment, so probably them and I’d put them on at The Joiners (In Southampton) I think.

What venue would you choose on the Island?
Blacksheep Bar, for it’s underground vibes. It’s the best grass-roots venue on the Island.

Describe Little Mammoth in one sentence…
Ruckus rock and roll fronted by an ex-Noah and the Whale member.

Come along to Luke’s next gig with Little Mammoth at The Parkside on Sunday @ 7pm.
Luke’s Blog can be found @ www.atmosmusic.co.uk

Day Planner

150 150 Ventnor Fringe