A rockstar music collective for local youth. By Editor Kris Thomas

In a humble garage in Shoreham, an extraordinary music phenomenon has been thriving for over 15 years. The Shoreham Allstars is a non-profit community music collective that has given hundreds of young people from Sussex the opportunity to join bands, write and record original songs, and perform live gigs.

Garage Band!

At the heart of the Allstars is Dave O’Connell, the founder who has dedicated himself to running the collective on a shoestring budget through pure passion and determination. From humble beginnings in 2008 Dave has been the driving force keeping the Allstars rocking and peaking with 38 Allstars bands of nearly 100 young people just before the Covid pandemic.

Despite the bare-bones operation (rehearsals currently take place in Dave’s garage) helmed almost entirely by Dave and Allstars parent helper Lucy Gabriel, the Allstars has racked up an impressive 430 gigs so far with 18 new songs ready to be recorded by current bands. The collective’s Original Allstars Archive on SoundCloud already hosts 156 student-written and recorded songs, some by musicians who have gone on to international touring success.

A positive anchor throughout secondary school

At its core, the Allstars is guided by the principles of bravery, creativity, helpfulness and effectiveness. Dave is indeed a ‘helpful musician’ as well as a talented one. Playing bass guitar for many of the young groups, he can also turn his hand to drumming and vocals and plays other instruments as is needed. His longish hair and customary – mostly black – rock musician’s attire bely a resourceful and thoughtful man, always standing slightly off stage when playing alongside the young bands so as not to steal their limelight. Dave’s goal is for kids to look back on being in an Allstars band as a positive anchor throughout their challenging secondary school years, something cool and meaningful amidst the turmoil of adolescence.

What makes the Allstars unique is the strong sense of community among the young musicians, who follow each other’s bands closely, celebrate successes together, and inspire one another to greater heights. As one Allstars parent puts it, “They’re like a hierarchy – some are just starting out, but there’s about five bands that could actually do something big. The younger kids look up to them and think ‘I want to be like that’.”

Let’s start a band!

Anyone between 7 and 18 who can play an instrument or sing and wants to perform is welcome to a trial Allstars session.

Dave will assess their ability and put them in a band with other like-minded young people. Dave, “In the first term bands learn their first set of songs. After that it is about building on this, moving the band on by developing and honing playing or singing skills around a bigger range of music. As bands progress we help them become more creative. Moving beyond covers to creating original music and forming a unique musical identity.”

On average Allstars have two gigs per month all year round  at fully established and respected venues along the South Coast including The Ropetackle Centre & The Duke of Wellington in Shoreham, The Brunswick in Hove and The Factory Live in Worthing as well as appearances at music festivals such as Worthing Festival, Moon & Stars, Beach Dreams and Light Up Shoreham. It’s impressive stuff and the parents love it as much as the kids. Jeff, a band member parent – “We’ve been so impressed by their rapid progress, including writing their own (really good!) song. To see them on a proper stage with lights and smoke and a large crowd singing along makes us so proud and grateful to Dave for giving them this opportunity.” There are many more testimonials on the Allstars website along with messages from band members who have gone on to successful professional music careers.

Notable successes include drummer Alfie Sayers, who was in Allstars from age 8 to 16, now playing drums in Hotwax who have supported Royal Blood on their US tour and are currently touring Europe.

Louis Salanson also played in Allstars from age 8-16, and is now playing keyboards with James Marriott. Louis has played the Royal Albert Hall, Reading/Leeds Festival and toured Europe and Australia. Cody Thomas-Matthews was an Allstar from 9-14 and is now playing in the band Noisy who have toured Europe and the U.S.

Future direction

The Allstars’ biggest strength is also Dave’s greatest challenge – the entire operation is effectively just him. “It’s not future-proof yet,” he admits. “My mission is to make the Allstars fully sustainable and beneficial for years to come.”

The solution is to build a sustainable structure around the Allstars with a team of committed backers and operations support so Dave can focus on the musical mentorship he excels at. Core needs include fundraising, PR/marketing to expand the collective’s reach, merchandise design and sales, booking gigs and venues, maintaining the website and social media, and eventually a dedicated space for rehearsals, recording, and performances.

Funding

Money is already being raised to upgrade the Allstars’ mobile stage vehicle, a retired internet truck which Dave converted into a self-contained mobile stage and green room. But the collective needs people power and a sustainable structure to take it into the future.

“We’ve never had such good bands with so much commitment, creativity and talent,” Dave says. “I want to look back and say they got out there and did their thing, that the kids could be in incredible bands throughout their teenage years as an anchor through all the turmoil.”

While Dave has lofty ambitions for the Allstars to gain nationwide acclaim as one of the UK’s premier community music collectives, his primary motivation is providing local young people with a meaningful, creative outlet – a place to rock while navigating the stormy waters of adolescence.

Music is a wonderful way to engage young people and get them to work on key life skills such as teamwork, expressing themselves, evaluating their performance and developing confidence. With some key volunteer support from mentors and coordinators, perhaps the Shoreham Allstars could finally shed its status as the local area’s best-kept secret and secure its legacy as a leading light for grassroots music development nationwide. www.shorehamallstars.co.uk