Today marks a special day for us as we celebrate our fifth birthday. It was on 1st February 2012 that Chordblossom first went live I don’t think anyone imagined that we would have accomplished so much or even still be around.
Over the five years, we have tried to shine a light on the immense amount of musical talent we have here in Northern Ireland. We attended countless shows, reviewed loads of new music, interviewed artists big and small, got covered in mud at our local festivals, left you exhausted listening to our podcasts or watching our video content and hosted some truly memorable gigs. Suffice to say it has been quite a busy spell.
Our most satisfying work, however, has been through Kickstart where we have given several bands and musicians a platform to reach a bigger audience. We have discovered some real gems through the competition and watched two of our winners progress to much greater things.
People often assume that running the website is paid, full time job but the reality is quite different. The site is run as a hobby and everyone who contributes does so as a volunteer. It is only down to the exceptional commitment and hard work of our team that we manage to cover as much as we do. I am eternally grateful to anyone who currently contributes or has ever contributed to the site.
I should also pay tribute to all the bands and musicians for sending us their music to feature, all the promoters for inviting us to their shows, the organisations who donate prizes to our Kickstart competition, all the people and venues we’ve worked with and finally, you, our readers. If there was no-one reading, all our efforts would be in vain so thank you for taking time out of your busy day to read up about the music scene in Northern Ireland. Bonus points if you have ever joined us at one our gigs!
It is heartening to know that our work is appreciated and we are grateful if you have supported Chordblossom in any way over the past five years. We have big plans for the future (no spoilers here) and hope you will stick with us as we move forward into the great unknown.