Gig Buddies on making music festivals more accessible

In the mid 2000s, the Sussex punk band Heavy Load discovered something strange happening at their gigs. The group, made up of musicians with and without learning disabilities, noticed a lot of people leaving around 9pm, just as their set had begun. They realised that it was due to support worker shifts often ending at 10pm, meaning fans who were there with paid support had to leave early to be home on time.

To tackle this issue, the band set up a campaign called Stay Up Late, arguing that people with learning disabilities and autistic people should be supported to lead full and active social lives, and from this campaign, Gig Buddies was born. The project, which has spread across the UK and abroad since launching in 2013, pairs up adults with learning disabilities and autistic adults with volunteers who share their interests, enabling them to enjoy gigs, festivals, and events together.

In Scotland, the project is run by the charity Thera Trust. Sam Maggs, Gig Buddies’ Edinburgh-based Project Manager, emphasises the importance of enjoying social activities with people who aren’t there in a professional capacity. “[It’s about] introducing people to other people, who aren't paid to be in their lives, because you share a common interest,” he explains. “You like the same things, whether that's getting out to the same kind of gigs, you're both fans of the same football team, or actually, you're just a bunch of people who love meeting up on Friday night in a pub…"

“It means I can get more involved with the people that I get on with,” says Robert, one of more than 190 members Gig Buddies support across the Central Belt. Every year, the team organise group trips to Scotland’s music festivals, and for many members it’s a completely new experience. Robert had never been to a festival before attending Doune the Rabbit Hole in 2022 along with a large group of other Gig Buddies members.

Maggs describes the preparation that goes into making the experience of camping at festivals as positive as possible for the members. “In the lead up to it, we'd go for one or two nights to a local campsite in Edinburgh to get used to that. We do a lot of Zoom call prep with people around the festival site and talking about the festival experience.”

Venues and event companies also have a role to play in making their spaces more welcoming to those with learning disabilities, which is why Gig Buddies have been providing access advice to organisers. “A lot of the barriers that people can have are about knowing what to expect,” Maggs explains. “So if it's going to be busy, is there a space that I can have a break from that crowd? If it's loud, can I get ear defenders, earplugs? Is there a place I can get those? Do I have to bring my own? A lot of the time as well, we find that access information done well doesn't just benefit people that know they have barriers to access. If you're doing as much as you can to be an accessible event, it's more accessible for absolutely everybody.”

But despite thorough preparation, there are some aspects of festivals and events in general that remain unpredictable and can prove challenging. Robert describes his experience of Doune the Rabbit Hole as busy and loud, and remembers his frustrations when another festival attendee got too close to him. Maggs admits these factors are hard to control, but says that venues can still take measures to make people feel welcome, such as making it clear that anti-social behaviour can be reported to staff. “It's that idea of… you want to create a community, you want people to know that this is a space for them, right? And if they experience anything that says otherwise, they aren't the issue there, that other person is the issue.”

This year, Robert is looking forward to going to Edinburgh’s Hidden Door festival in June, which Gig Buddies will be attending for the first time, while members Michelle and Joseph are both excited to return to Kelburn Garden Party in July.

But to secure a sustainable future, Gig Buddies with Thera Trust have launched a fundraising campaign for 2025. “It's the first time we've ever publicly asked for money and it's just very necessary for us to do it at the moment,” explains Maggs. “Grant funding is getting increasingly competitive. Local authority money is being cut left, right and centre, especially around learning disability services and social care support for people. We're seeing a lot of cuts that are resulting in people just getting the support that's deemed essential to their lives. And actually, we feel that a social life is an essential part of people's lives.”

From staying out late at a gig, to spending a full weekend camping at a festival, Gig Buddies emphasise that having control over your own social life helps you feel like an active member of your community. “Ordinary is the word we use,” Maggs says. “It's just people doing ordinary things, like anyone else does.”

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Find out more about Gig Buddies with Thera Trust at thera.co.uk
To donate to Gig Buddies with Thera Trust's 2025 fundraiser, head to gigbuddiestheratrust.raiselysite.com