New Darlington music academy planned for teenagers
"I am delighted to see local talent develop and Luke's journey is inspiring," Dulston said. "This new initiative he is developing will give young people across Darlington an opportunity to explore their talent and fulfil their potential."Mr Jenk said his goal was for LJay Music Academy to be "a one-stop hub for aspiring artists, a space where creativity meets opportunity".
He said: "It will be a place where people can record music and learn the basics of music production."I'm investing significantly into this and it is definitely something that is needed in our town."It's about blending creative expression with education, engaging young minds by connecting learning to their interests and ambitions."
Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
Drake's still relevant - as his famous friends will tell you
Drake has certainly had a difficult couple of months, with the most notable moment being when fellow rapper Kendrick Lamar used his Super Bowl halftime show as an opportunity to call the Canadian a paedophile - something Drake's lawyers are now suing Lamar's record label media would have you believe that Drake came off worse from the pair's constant sparring, that he was no longer culturally relevant and had been deserted by his friends in the music what better way to dispel those views than by headlining three nights of London's biggest festival - performing to more than 150,000 people in the process?The Toronto rapper has just finished night two at Wireless, which featured so many special guests that there was barely a moment to breathe throughout the set, let alone sneak off for a drink or toilet break. Each night of the festival has centred around a different era of the 38-year-old's extensive back catalogue, with Friday delving into his R&B roots, Saturday dedicated to UK rap and grime and Sunday set to explore his forays into global genres such as dancehall, reggaeton and Latin two hour sets left plenty of room for collaborators - with Lauryn Hill, Bryson Tiller, Central Cee and Dave getting the biggest cheers of the nights have also proved that if Drake needs a new place to call home, London would welcome him with open festival reached sweltering levels of heat on both days, but nothing could kill the spirit of the thousands of fans, whose energy rippled through the crowd."There's no place like home - London, England."You've shown me so much love over the years," he added - amassing huge cheers from the crowd. Friday love songs Drake's Friday performance marked the first time the Canadian had played properly to UK crowds in more than six years - so fans appeared a little deflated when he wasn't the first face they saw as the lights went co-headliner PARTYNEXTDOOR started off the show, performing a medley of solo hits for around 20 then entered the stage to little fanfare, but all was forgotten quickly as he launched into some of his biggest R&B hits, including Marvin's Room, Teenage Fever and the everlastingly catchy barely minutes into his headline slot, the Canadian was once again on the sidelines as he introduced his first and second of many special became evident early on that Drake knows a thing or two about creating a viral moment, first when he brought out Bobby V to perform his hit Slow Down and then Mario, who provided flawless vocals on his signature track Let Me Love You. A theme of the weekend was established early on - that Drake felt comfortable enough as a performer to allow others to take centre stage and lift up those whose talents he went on to collaborate with several more artists on the night, including R&B newcomer Giveon, Kentucky singer and rapper Bryson Tiller and once again with PARTYNEXTDOOR, as the pair performed tracks from their February album, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, together for the first set as a whole was completely unstructured - coming to a frantic end as Drake whizzed around the festival site on a crane platform while Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You boomed from the fireworks appeared from behind the stage, a mass of people headed for the much to everyone's surprise, the night wasn't over - was Drake covering Ready or Not by the Fugees?It turns out he wasn't and pretty much everyone was surprised when none other than Lauryn Hill's impressive vocals began to ring out across Finsbury rattled through Ex-Factor as Finsbury Park's curfew crept ever closer, transitioning into Nice For What, the 2018 Drake song which samples said was certainly the highlight of the evening, tainted slightly by Wireless' technical team cutting the mics before Hill could sing one more song. Star-studded Saturday If Friday was frenetic, Saturday's performance took the chaos factor to whole new show can only be described as what would happen if Gen Z was put in charge of the Royal Variety was hard to keep up with the carousel of famous faces making their way onto the stage, each one met with more and more gasps from the artist fakemink was the first UK rap artist to make an appearance, who was then replaced with Headie Tottenham rapper paced up and down the stage as he rapped alongside Drake on their track Only You came drill artist K-Trap, followed by J famously brought J Hus on stage in 2019 on the day he was released from prison, which he referenced on Saturday evening as "one of my greatest moments as a performer".The pair jammed their way through their 2023 collaboration Who Told You, which proved the perfect accompaniment to a beautiful London fans battled with frozen phone cameras and sore arms from all the filming, there was no - who had already performed earlier with grime collective Boy Better Know, returned to the stage for Shutdown, a rap classic that just so happens to sample an old Drake social media the cameras cut to the Canadian, he could be seen smiling and dancing on the sidelines, clearly enjoying his own personal performance from some of UK rap's titans."Nobody can out-rap London," he mused from side of stage. It felt impossible that each special guest could top the previous one, but then came Streatham rapper Dave, who made an exception from his music hiatus for one night performed his track with Drake - Wanna Know, who then teased that yet another guest was coming to the Sprinter - arguably one of the biggest UK tracks of this decade began to play, audience screams reached their greatest of the weekend so Cee made his way onto the stage, with Drake declaring him and Dave as "two of the biggest artists together at the moment".After collaborating on Sprinter, Central Cee launched into a selection of some of his biggest hits, including Band4Band, Doja and Obsessed With would be almost impossible to imagine that anyone left this show disappointed, unless they wanted to see Drake and Drake performed just 18 of the 60 songs across the two nights on his own - a departure from his usual touring Saturday drew to a close there were even more surprises - this time from across the once again made an appearance, as did female rappers Sexxy Red and Latto.21 Savage did too, but was then replaced rather bizarrely with singer-songwriter Vanessa of her playing piano and singing A Thousand Miles flashed across the mega on-stage screens as friends turned to each other then once again climbed onto his crane for another round of Whitney, further intensifying the feeling that we had somehow been transported to the sticky dance floor of a hometown nightclub at 2am. If there's anything to take from two nights of back-to-back Drake, it's that he will certainly always receive a warm welcome when he performs in the someone who was bitterly labelled as a "culture vulture" by a British grime artist in 2019, the Canadian certainly got the opportunity to set the record straight over the joked on Saturday that he had "made a lot of phone calls" to the UK's biggest rap and grime artists - whose willingness to support the Canadian at this time spoke his feud with Kendrick Lamar has certainly provided more headlines than his recent music, these shows have proven that his mass appeal remains, as does his exceptional showmanship and enduring pop, rap and R&B back performs alongside Burna Boy, Popcaan and Vybz Kartel on the final day of Wireless Festival on will return to the UK in two weeks to play several arena shows with PARTYNEXTDOOR in Birmingham and Manchester.
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Drake gives shocking response to 'F*** Kendrick' Lamar chant at London festival after brutal feud
Drake had a surprise reaction when his concert in London was interrupted by fans to bash his nemesis Kendrick Lamar on Saturday. The 38-year-old hitmaker (real name: Aubrey Drake Graham) was headlining Rockstar Energy's Wireless Festival with an unusual arrangement in which he headlined all three nights of the festival. And on night two, audience members interrupted one of his monologues to chant 'F*** Kendrick,' referring to Lamar. Even though the feud had seemed to recede from the spotlight in recent months, Drake — whose massive gambling losses were recently revealed — seemed happy to encourage the chant from the stage. has reached out to representatives for Drake and Lamar for comment but hasn't yet received a response. As the audience's chants grew more frenzied, Drake turned toward the backstage area and called to his head of security Chubbs, who was called out by name by Kendrick in Not Like Us. Drake's response to the crowd chanting "F*CK KENDRICK" at Wireless 👀 "Chubbs, grab me a shot, I'll drink to that." — NFR Podcast (@nfr_podcast) July 12, 2025 'Chubbs, grab me a shot. I'll drink to that,' Drake said, which was met with a wave of cheers from his fans, though he appeared to move on with the show from there. The hitmaker may have anticipated some anti-Lamar sentiment from the audience, as his intro seemed to leave an opening for his fans. Before the chant started, he bragged about how he was performing 'three different sets' with 'three different vibes' at the festival in London. 'You name another artist that can do that then bring them up here. We can clash right now. Anybody,' he said, though Lamar would have been the first thought for anyone family with their beef when he suggested a 'clash.' Drake also appeared to signal a falling out with Los Angeles Lakers player LeBron James in the wake of the NBA icon's apparent support of Lamar in their feud. Drake previously had a photo of LaBron on his left arm, but it was revealed to have been covered up with a new design of Oklahoma City Thunder player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Saturday. Earlier this year, Drake changed the lyrics to his song Nonstop from 'How I go from 6 to 23 like I'm LeBron' to 'How I go from 6 to 23 but not LeBron,' which fans interpreted as a jab at the basketball player, and he repeated the revised lyrics on Saturday. In January, fans speculated that Drake's Fighting Irish Freestyle was intended to take aim at LeBron when it surfaced on social media. Drake DISSES LeBron James at Wireless Festival 🚨 "6 to 23 but not LeBron" — NFR Podcast (@nfr_podcast) July 12, 2025 Drake also included a LeBron James diss after he appeared to support Lamar earlier this year. His LeBron tattoo was notably covered up with a new design of Oklahoma City Thunder player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Drake and Lamar feuded with a rapid-fire barrage of diss tracks last year, culminating with Kendrick's Grammy-winning Super Bowl centerpiece Not Like Us, in which he provocatively called the In My Feelings rapper a 'pedophile.' He also took aim at several of Drake's regular collaborators and business associates in the song as well. Although the Canadian actor-turned-rapper had traded diss tracks with Lamar, and followed up Not Like Us the following day with The Heart Part 6 — a parody of a series of song titles his nemesis had previously released — he appeared to step back from the feud after Not Like Us became a chart-topping hit. The song's reception suggested that many music industry figures had turned against Drake when much of the audience at the 2025 Grammy Awards joined in to sing Not Like Us when it played as Kendrick's walk-up music as he was awarded the prestigious honors Record of the Year and Song of the Year. The song ultimately won five Grammys, giving it a tie for the most-awarded song of all time at the ceremony. Just days later, Lamar got to share his side of the feud when he hosted the Super Bowl LIX halftime show, which culminated in a performance of Not Like Us that included Drake's ex-girlfriend Serena Williams crip walking. Notably, the rapper censored himself when he got to his infamous line, 'Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophiles.' However, it's unclear if that was done to avoid potential legal complications, or if it was a request by the broadcaster or the NFL. Drake had already filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group, the parent company of both of their labels, due to what he said were the .
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Bobby Brazier breaks his silence on his brother Freddy's feud with their dad Jeff as he opens up about the 'things he doesn't like' about him
has said his younger brother Freddy needs to 'grow up' as he opened up about the 'things he doesn't like' about him. The EastEnders star, 22, has opened up about his brother, 20, who is currently in the midst of a legal battle with his dad Jeff over his welfare. Speaking about Freddy's family row for the first time, Bobby told The Sun on Sunday that his brother is a sensitive person and is 'a good boy' but growing up 'will serve him well'. He told the publication: 'Freddy's very sensitive and wants to please. And when he grows up a little bit that will serve him well. 'There are things I don't like about him and there are things about me he doesn't like. Freddy will be OK, I don't know if he looks up to me, but I look up to him in many ways, but he's a good boy.' It is reported that the brother's father Jeff, 46, has set up a court date to stop Freddy seeing his maternal grandmother Jackiet Budden, 68, amid rising concerns over his well being. Freddy has admitted he 'misses the bond' he shared with older brother Bobby in a heartbreaking Instagram last month. The Race Across The World star posted throwback videos as he reminisced about the good times he and Bobby shared during the coronavirus. One video Freddy posted saw the Brazier brothers bashing their heads against a pumpkin on a farm. He wrote: 'Only thing I miss about Covid is the amount of time I had with my brother to bond and make memories and have a laugh.' In another post, Freddy and Bobby larked around in the kitchen in a video while dad Jeff cooked dinner. Bobby, who has immersed himself in the movement at the Hare Krishna HQ, has been enjoying the religion's peaceful outlook at Soho's Hare Krishna HQ. The Mail revealed that Bobby has turned to the organisation – which follows a branch of the Hindu faith – after relations became strained between him and his father, TV presenter Jeff. So difficult did things become between the pair that Bobby moved out of Jeff's Essex home into his own Soho apartment, which is near to the Hare Krishna temple. Jeff, resident parental expert on ITV 's This Morning, had cheered on his son for all his worth every week at Strictly. He also told Strictly viewers how strong their relationship was. But in truth, communication between the two has been scant. Meanwhile Freddy's difficulties with his father were apparently heightened when he tried to deepen his relationship with his grandmother, Jade's mum Jackiey Budden. Freddy, who starred with his dad on BBC1 show Celebrity Race Across The World, currently lives with his grandmother, despite his father's objections. The 20-year-old also admitted to smoking cannabis with his grandmother. While Freddy's rebellion is public, noisy and erratic, Bobby's is the polar opposite – yet perhaps no less hurtful for his father. Friends revealed to the Mail that Bobby, although no wild child, has been just as happy to push away his relatives as Freddy. Those relatives include Jeff's wife Kate Dwyer – who both boys have had 'ups and downs' with, according to those who know the family. And while Bobby may not be trading insults with his dad publicly, like his younger brother, he is also seeking to distance himself from Jeff, who Freddy accused of being controlling. A source close to the family said: 'Bobby's always had a spiritual side, but this is intentional. It's clear he's trying to leave all the fighting and noise behind. 'Freddy's rebellion is loud – drugs, public slanging matches and legal battles about his nana – while Bobby's is quiet. But actually it's just as defiant. 'He's turning his back on the life his Dad created for them in Essex and following his own path.' Bobby's Hare Krishna practice appears to be no fad. A volunteer said: 'He's here every Saturday without fail, he joins our kitchen session, learns the prayers – this isn't a gimmick.' Freddy lost his mother Jade Goody when he was just four years old after she died from cervical cancer in 2009, and has since been raised by his dad Jeff. Jackiey and Jeff have clashed multiple times over the years, and it was revealed earlier this year that the TV star is taking action in an attempt to legally block contact between his son and his grandmother, 'to keep him safe'. Mail On Sunday revealed that Freddy, who was restricted from seeing Jackiey by his dad after he filed court paperwork, spent time last month at her home in Bermondsey, after reuniting despite his father's efforts to keep his son away. Family friends say the duo remain 'extremely close,' explaining: 'Jeff was never going to keep Freddy away from his Nanny for very long – they've always had a strong bond Jeff may hate her for all sorts of reasons going back many years, but Freddy loves her very much... 'They had a great time together, playing with her dog and catching up at her flat – where he has often stayed over the years...
