Hidden Tracks
Tell the story of a song that changed your life
Is there a song that changed your life? A piece of music that takes you to a significant moment, that reminds you of a choice, a person, or a crossroads?
There most likely is. And that’s the basis of Hidden Tracks. Established by producers Kristian Brodie and Adam Shakinovsky, Hidden Tracks is a cross between Desert Island Discs, Ted Talks and The Moth. First, you hear someone’s story of a life changing relationship with a piece of music, then you hear that song played out, sometimes live.
Past participants have included well-known artists such as Inua Ellams, Katie Melua, Sarfraz Manzoor, David Olusoga and Harry Hill. But they have also included unknown faces. People who just had a story to tell. People like Jemma, Katie, Laura, George and Sharon.
At Hidden Tracks, at our 2022 London Literature Festival, these five participants told their stories; taking the audience from a summer in Mallorca, via a tarot card reading, to a hospital bedside. Their stories were about friendship, love, almost-love, loss, family dynamics and self-discovery. They were about heartbreaking phone calls and teaching children toe lyrics to ‘Modern Love’ somewhere on the M25.
Each participant spent over a month crafting, sharing and refining their stories. And each of their performances summed up the essence of Hidden Tracks – the unifying power of storytelling, and of music as emotional catalyst.
Sharing a personal story on stage can be a truly empowering act. Will you share yours?
How to apply
We actively welcome applications from writers of all ages and all experience levels (including people who wouldn’t yet call themselves a writer).
Applications close at midnight, Sunday 1 September.
Useful information
What do you need to take part?
Age doesn’t matter, neither does past experience of writing stories or performing live on stage. We just need you to have had experiences, to have music in your life, and the desire to tell a story.
With Hidden Tracks the process is just as important as the performance. Through in-person workshops and tailored writing sessions, you’ll discover the perfect way to tell your story.
Key dates
To tell your story as part of Hidden Tracks you must be available for one of these two initial in-person workshops here at the Southbank Centre.
Sunday 15 September, 12 noon – 2.30pm
Tuesday 17 September, 6.30pm – 9pm
From these initial sessions we will be selecting a few people to progress to attending a second round of in-person workshops.
Thursday 3 October, 6.30pm – 8.30pm
Thursday 10 October, 6.30pm – 8.30pm
Thursday 17 October, 6.30pm – 8.30pm
Thursday 29 October, 6.30pm – 8.30pm
And of course you will need to be available for the main event itself on Friday 1 November.