A group of musicians who have toured the world with internationally renowned legendary acts have been hitting the road on a UK tour to showcase the possibilities at new music institute Resonance.

Colleges up and down the country – including Hereford College of Arts – Got rocked by the Resonance Roadshow band as it stopped by to show prospective students what the brand-new state-of-the-art music institute is all about.

Based in the West Midlands just over half an hour from Birmingham City Centre, Resonance will be opens the doors to its first cohort of students in 2020.

Organisers of the roadshow use the tour to highlight the myriad of careers available in the music industry – many of which are covered by the degree courses on offer at Resonance.

Co-director Rick Benton, who currently plays keyboard with West Midlands icons Magnum, assembled a band of talented musicians to help demonstrate how Resonance could kick-start a career in the music industry.

The Resonance Roadshow visited Hereford College of Arts on Wednesday 9 October.

“We are very excited for the visit from Resonance college as they are a great local progression opportunity for students currently on our course. It is inspiring for our students to see young people who are actually taking the next steps into a career in the music business. They will have a chance to work one to one with the practitioners who will be providing their level 4 education. We hope to follow this with visits from other H.E providers to give the broadest possible tasters for HCA students. This also fits into our agenda for visiting industry based practitioners – these include record company owners, distribution experts, musicians, promoters and managers.” – Alex Gordon, Music lecturer

Singer with the roadshow band is Samantha Dorrance, 27, who while being a singer/songwriter in her own right, is also a children’s TV presenter and face of the Disney Channel.

She was joined by guitarist Greg Platt Lake, a session musician who has been working professionally since leaving school at the age of 16, and has worked all over the world with acts such as Steve Winwood and Robert Plant.

They were also joined by session drummers Lloyd Draker and Richard Kirk, who has played with the likes of Scorpions guitarist Uli Jon Roth, Limehouse Lizzy and the Grey Goose Blues Band; bassist Dan Clark who has played alongside Steve Vai, Scott Matthews and Beverley Knight; and Rick himself on the keys.

“For us it’ll be like gigging as many of us have done for years, but these roadshows will be a unique way for us to demonstrate to young people considering a career in music how great coming to Resonance will be for them. It will be one of the best institutes of its kind in the country and I have no doubt that a lot of people will thrive in the learning environment we are creating.” said Rick.

As well as performing songs and engaging students in music techniques, the sessions aimed to provide a wider picture about careers in music.

“One of the things we are keen to stress here at Resonance is that while a career on stage is something that many will aspire too, there are lots of other careers in music you can follow,” said David Barnard, fellow co-director at Resonance.

Resonance band heads to Hereford to spread the word to students