
Thanks to a partnership with The Christopher Meredith Foundation, we are very pleased to offer two AIF member UK festivals the opportunity to have a fully-funded Music Support Safe Hub at your festival in 2025.
Below you will find further details on what our Safe Hub activity entails, our requirements and the application form.
Please note applications close on Friday 21st February at 4pm. If you have any questions, please contact Belinda.e@musicsupport.org
WHY ARE SAFE HUBS IMPORTANT?
During summer 2024, Music Support carried out (for the second year) an anonymous online wellbeing survey as part of our Safe Hub activity with feedback from both artists and crew. Key takeouts:
- 93% saw it as either extremely or very important for services such as Music Support to be available at festivals
- 76% of people claimed to have “felt down or depressed” in the last 12 months
- 69% claimed to have suffered “low self-confidence”
- A worrying 21% claimed to have experienced suicidal thoughts
- 83% thought there wasn’t enough support available in music and live events for people with mental health and/or addiction problems
All of this reinforces the need for Music Support to be backstage at festivals to support our industry peers.
ABOUT MUSIC SUPPORT’S SAFE HUB
Our ‘Safe Hubs’ are hosted backstage at music festivals across the country to address the particular needs that can arise on tour and specifically in the festival environment. The Hub provides a safe space for artists and crew to speak confidentially to a Mental Health First Aid trained staff member or volunteer about anything they may be experiencing, or to seek advice about clinical signposting for themselves or others. Safe Hubs are also an alcohol and drug free environment where visitors can simply come to take a break. Click here for further details on our Safe Hub activity including feedback from artists, crew and volunteers.
WHAT IS INCLUDED WITHIN A SAFE HUB:
STAFF: 4 x staff – Music Support core team and volunteers
All staff and volunteers are trained by a Learning and Development specialist and Addiction counsellor. Their training includes Mental Health First Aid, Addiction and Recovery Awareness and Self-Care.
Music Support’s team will be on site each day between 11am – 6pm. As well as offering the Safe Hub space, we also raise general awareness of the charity and our services to artists and crew through informal conversations and the provision of flyers.
Staff costs include training days and up to 3 x festival days (to include travel, food & drink and accommodation) as well as a main point of contact to coordinate logistics in the lead-up, during and post-event.


ASSETS PROVIDED BY MUSIC SUPPORT:
- Pull up banners x 2 (1.5m wide x 2m high)
- Posters – we will send you an agreed allocation of posters (sized A4 – A2) in advance that should be put up by your teams in key backstage locations once the site is built (e.g. production offices, dressing rooms, crew/artist catering and toilets). These include details of our core services and are incredibly effective in raising awareness to both artists and crew
- Flyers – The Safe Hub team will bring an allocation of flyers with them to the festival to distribute to those who visit the Hub AND an allocation for key backstage areas (e.g. production offices, dressing rooms and crew/artist catering)
- Music Support T-shirts worn by the team to ensure we stand out and are approachable
REQUIREMENTS:
Please note the following items are not included within our budget based upon the assumption that the festival will be able to provide for us:
- A small portacabin or marquee in which to house our Safe Hub
- Up to 4 x comfortable chairs (or 1 x 2-seater sofa and 2 x chairs) and 1 x table
- Refreshments for visitors where possible (e.g. water at a minimum with tea & coffee and healthy snacks as a bonus)
- Additional dressing where available (e.g. flowers, plants or similar)
- Crew catering (The festival to provide 2 x meal vouchers per day for our team of x 4 to eat lunch and dinner in crew catering)
FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS:
For maximum exposure to artists and their crew, the Safe Hub should be located within the main stage artist village / compound (ideally between dressing rooms and artist catering).
The festival should display signs to direct people towards the Hub (n.b. Music Support can supply artwork for print for basic signs showing Music Support logo and directional arrows).
Our team will require a vehicle pass and permission to park 1 x car as close as possible to the location of the Hub.
On the day of our arrival, we will require a short tour of site (via buggy or similar) by our main production contact to introduce us to key contacts and identify all relevant backstage areas and stages (to enable us to maximise our time on site supporting artists and crew).
Our passes should provide access to all backstage areas (with the exception of on stage) to enable us to visit key crew and artist areas each day, ensuring we are supporting as many people as possible.
We would be grateful if you could advise of any special rates with local hotels that we could avail of.

2024 FESTIVAL FEEDBACK
In Summer 2024, we brought our Safe Hubs to Tramlines and We Out Here thanks to this special initiative. We were warmly welcomed by the festival teams and had a fantastic experience at both. In their words:
“Working with Music Support this year has been incredibly rewarding and has inspired us to find new ways to prioritise the welfare of teams behind the scenes….Tramlines is a huge team effort and the safety and wellbeing of everyone within that team is fundamental to the event’s success. The resources offered by Music Support gave our artists and crew the tools to take better care of their own wellbeing, while also supporting their family, friends, and colleagues. But the benefits of the Safe Hub extend far beyond Tramlines itself, as the knowledge and resources shared and awareness raised will leave a lasting, positive impact when carried into future events and professional spaces, touching all corners of the industry.“ Pia Rose Scattergood, Tramlines
“Belinda and her team created a welcoming and warm space for people to open dialogue about their experiences, seek further support, or enquire about how they could support others around them. Our team reported feeling looked after, considered, and comforted by the presence of Music Support, and it made a huge difference to people understanding that there was a safe space for them if they needed it. I hope Music Support continue with the great work they are doing and we would love to grow our partnership with them in the future.” Joe Barnett, We Out Here


AIF Safe Hub application form
ABOUT MUSIC SUPPORT
Music Support is a registered charity that helps peers who work in the UK music industry experiencing substance use, addiction and/or mental health challenges. Founded in 2016 by people from within the music industry, our team have all been impacted personally by these issues and seen friends, colleagues and heroes lose their careers, families and even their lives. Our core services include training in Mental Health First Aid and Addiction and Recovery Awareness to empower individuals to look after the wellbeing of their colleagues (and themselves), Support Services to include a confidential Helpline and provision of assessments and treatment, ‘Safe Hubs’ backstage at festivals, providing a space for artists and crew to take time out and speak to Mental Health First Aid trained staff and their new Family and Friends Service, designed to help loved ones (including colleagues) of those supporting someone with mental ill-health, problematic drinking, drug use or other addictions.
Read further information on what we do and view this short film.

About The Christopher Meredith Foundation
At the Christopher Meredith Foundation (CMF) our aim is to partner with carefully selected, specialist charities and organisations within the music industry delivering critical services to those facing mental health challenges. Established in 2021 as a legacy and to honour the memory of Christopher, the CMF seeks to reflect Christopher’s unwavering commitment to, and belief in, the people within the music industry. As an Agent, Festival Director and much-loved member of the live music circuit, Christopher was driven to support the artists and music he cared so deeply about. The CMF acts as an enabler, providing funding to allow our partners to scale their operations and maximise the impact their services can deliver at an individual level. Removing stigmas around mental health and reaching people in crisis are at the forefront of our objectives, whilst helping to support a proactive industry wide culture which truly nurtures its talent and protects all the individuals within its eco systems. For further information visit www.cmfoundation.co.uk