This summer Citizens Bank and Music Forward teamed up to provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to the young people of Boston. Not only did we provide opportunities for Boston classrooms to come in and tour iconic venues and learn about different live music careers, but we also brought in nine interns ages 18-21 to learn about everything it takes to make a live show happen, by having them do it themselves!
On July 6, 2022 we teamed up with Citizens and launched our inaugural Boston Venue Internship, designed to inspire and prepare the next generation of diverse live music industry leaders in Boston. Over six weeks, nine interns explored careers in live entertainment through workshops, guest speakers, hands-on venue experience, and project-based learning.
The internship consisted of three major pieces; career development workshops hosted at the Citizens offices, job shadowing, and hands-on experience at iconic Boston venues, including Brighton Music Hall, Orpheum Theatre, Paradise Rock Club, Citizens Bank Opera House, as well as the House of Blues.
The interns were welcomed into the Citizens offices for four career development workshops during the internship; Professional Pitch & Networking, Marketing & Branding, Financial Wellness, and Resume Writing & Interviewing. These workshops featured presentations on each topic, as well as panel discussions and hands-on activities with Citizens volunteers to help the interns deepen their understanding.
The interns also rotated between some of Boston’s top-performing venues, shadowing venue staff and learning the ins and outs of producing events ranging from local DIY shows to a major touring Broadway musical. This allowed the interns to not just learn about but apply what they were learning with social media and marketing, security, lighting and sound, food and beverage, and more!
This all culminated in a live event where the interns put on a show of up-and-coming musical acts from across the Boston area at the Brighton Music Hall. The showcase allowed the interns to demonstrate everything they had learned over the 6-week program and put it into action. The cohort was divided into teams of Talent Buying, Content Creation, Marketing, and Operations & Logistics and handled every aspect of the show including curation, promotion, and the production of the event.
The group dubbed their show “Amp Up Boston” and at 6 pm on August 10th, they got to see all of their hard work become a reality. Fiona Bautista, a Filipino singer/songwriter, Lilac, an alternative-folk band, The Chops, a psych-pop group, and TyskTyskTask, an indie grunge rock group, all graced the stage and put on an incredible show to create a fantastic finale to the program.
We are delighted at the success of this program and the opportunities Citizens helped us bring to these young people. Many of this year’s interns had never attended a live music event and they are now all leaving having seen multiple shows including the acclaimed Broadway musical “Wicked,” and some are even leaving with job opportunities! We are thrilled to keep working with Citizens and have this program continue to bring incredible opportunities to the youth of Boston. Be sure to keep an eye out on our page for more venue tours and internship opportunities coming soon!
