A group of our Event Production students recently completed placements at the iconic Bloodstock festival – the legendary heavy metal event rocking Walton-On-Trent since 2001. Our students got the opportunity to gain hands-on experience – setting up monitors, mics, and audio patches on the EMP stage, while also operating lighting desks on both the New Blood and Sophie Lancaster stages. Plus, they had the chance to shadow the front of house audio and lighting engineers across all four stages, absorbing industry know-how and pro-level tips in a live event setting.
Second year student, Jamie Hanley said: “I have picked up so many little pieces of practical advice such as mixing tips, cable and patch organisation methods, and even how to interact with bands and touring engineers that will make each working day a little bit easier.”
Theo Doody, another Confetti second year student added: “The best part of being on placement at Bloodstock was interacting with the festival audio and lighting technicians as they were incredibly insightful into different ways to use kit and generally passing on small bits of knowledge that will help us improve as engineers a lot in the long run.”
When asked if he’d recommend the placement to other students, Theo said: “If you’re a metal-head and interested in developing console operation skills, lighting especially then it’s a no-brainer. Give it a go and make the most of having professional engineers by your side all day!”
If you are interested in working at Bloodstock festival next year you can contact Lucy Greaves, our Work Placement Manager at lucy.greaves@confetti.ac.uk for further details and how to apply. A huge thanks to Rachael Greenfield, Festival Director and the Bloodstock family, for providing our students with this fantastic industry opportunity. We’re looking forward to Bloodstock 2025
