Muse Tour Director Glen Rowe Honoured for Training Next Generation of Touring Professionals

Cato Academy Founder takes home Music Skills Award at CC Skills Awards Ceremony

 

2nd March 2016 – Glen Rowe, Founder of the touring company Cato Music and the only “Roadie School” in the world, Cato Academy, has been awarded the Music Skills Award by Creative and Cultural Skills for his work in training the next generation of touring and production professionals.

 

Rowe, who is also the Tour Director for the Grammy award-winning British rock band Muse, established the Cato Academy in 2010 in a bid to create a new industry-focused framework for teaching young adults the skills required to survive and succeed on the road in the live music sector.

 

The Creative and Cultural Skills Awards, now in their second year, exist to recognise leaders who are committed to educating and upskilling young people across the creative sector.  The Music Skills Award shines a light on mentors and managers in the music sector who are making a difference by passing on their skills.  Rowe made the shortlist alongside Amanda Gentle from PRS for Music and Simon Pursehouse from Sentric Music.

 

On receiving the award from MOBO’s Kanya King and Live Nation’s Paul LathamGlen Rowe said,

To be recognised by CC Skills and to be selected from amongst the other wonderful candidates to win the Music Skills Award is a real privilege.  The Cato Academy is a passion of mine – we’re training individuals who will become the nuts and bolts of show business.  

“This Award emphasises the importance of backstage crew and reinforces the fact that being a “roadie” is a real job, which requires technical understanding, specific skills, and a lot of hard work and dedication.  Thank you to all the teachers, sponsors, friends and students of Cato Academy – this wouldn’t have been possible without your support.”

The Cato Academy, based in South West London at Cato Music’s HQ, is the only training centre in the world that educates tour managers, production managers, backline techs and live sound engineers under one roof.  The evening course is delivered twice a week by real professionals over a 12 week period and is open to aspiring road crew and music professionals already working in the industry who want to better understand the reality of touring.

 

The Academy places a huge emphasis on hands-on experience and connections with employers with work experience opportunities being offered last year alone at Glastonbury, Green Man Festival, Download, and several A-Lister charity events to name but a few.  Sponsors of the Academy include Ticketmaster, The O2, Sonos, Spotify, William Morris Endeavour Entertainment, Shure and other renowned industry names.

 

Rowe later added,

“This isn’t a career for the faint-hearted.  Thanks to our sponsors, we are able to tell students about the reality of working in this tough industry and offer a taste of what life is really like behind-the-scenes of the glitz and glamour. And for those already working in the sector at record companies, in management, or similar roles, it gives them a great insight into how to manage a tour and the associated costs effectively, what goes into producing a high powered show for their artist, and how they can support their act whilst on tour.”

 

Pauline Tambline, CEO of Creative and Cultural Skills, congratulated Rowe on the award, saying,

“The Creative & Cultural Skills Awards exist to shine a light on the people in the creative industries who are dedicated to passing on their skills. Glen Rowe is an outstanding example of such a person and couldn’t be more deserving of the Music Skills Award 2016. Glen has used his phenomenal success in the music industry as a vehicle to help him give opportunities and training to the next generation. 

 

“Through the CATO Academy, he has created an inspirational environment for young people to learn – directly from industry – the skills that are needed on the road. His lifelong commitment to shaping passionate and highly skilled touring professionals means he has truly earned this recognition.”

 

For more information about the Cato Academy, visit www.catoacademy.co.uk

 

ENDS

Media Enquiries: Lynne McDowell / lynne@catomusic.co.uk / 07763 619709

 

Notes to editors 

Creative & Cultural Skills Awards shine a light on those who are making a difference by passing on their own skills. The creative and cultural industries collectively are made up of over 150,000 businesses employing 1.8 million people and contributing £84.1 billion to the national economy. Skills development and training is more likely to happen at the initiation of inspirational individuals rather than large HR departments, and often goes unrecognised. What is clear is that the creative industries are growing faster than the rest of the economy, and this training – whether formally accredited or completely informal – is playing an important role that the Skills Awards recognise.

 

Creative & Cultural Skills gives young people opportunities to work and learn in the creative industries. We want to ensure that employers benefit from a skilled generation of talent and continue on a course of economic growth. Our network of industry and education supporters – the National Skills Academy for Creative & Cultural – is open to those who are committed to the provision of high quality creative education and training, apprenticeships and careers advice. Together we‘ve created over 4,000 Creative Apprenticeships in the UK since 2008. Creative & Cultural Skills is the National Provider for the Creative Employment Programme. Visit www.ccskills.org.uk for more information. For further information, images, and interviews, please contact the Creative & Cultural Skills Press Office:

T: 020 7015 1802 | Andrew.Ames@CCSkills.org.uk

 

March 3, 2016 4:57am ET by Cato Academy   Comments (0)

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