Make a Move festival gives an object lesson in the power of community

Sometimes you need a reality check. At the end of last week, the main music business what-aboutery coming down the wires concerned the potential purchase of Tidal Music by Apple Music. That’s two technology plays, both of whom have set out their stalls and are making cheddar on the back of the work of music makers, talking mergers and acquisitions. It’s as exciting as it sounds.

Naturally enough, that wasn’t the only thing going on at the end of last week: the annual Make a Move festival was under way in Limerick. Since 2012, a bunch of local community artists, activists, musicians and teachers have put on showcases, events, workshops and more in the city every July bringing locals and visitors together to make some noise. It’s about hip-hop and community, but it’s also about a whole lot more too.

I was in the city to host one of those Banter discussion pow-wows which have become part of my life over the past few years. This time, we had John Lillis (Rusangano Family, right), Ciarán Ryan (Out On a Limb Records and documentary maker) and Nessa McGann (programme controller with Spin South West) providing insights and outsights for new music makers about what it’s like to be on the next level.

That, though, was just the starter – the soup or salad, if you will. Afterwards, the chairs and stools were cleared out of the room in the Shannon Rowing Club and a bunch of local young rappers took to the floor. Blooded by workshops with Music Generation Limerick and Learning Hub Limerick, they had lots to say in what was a heartwarming, boisterous and overwhelmingly positive occasion.

Outstanding wisdom
One lad stood out a bit from the pack: Jonen Dekay, a 17- year-old rhymer exhibiting wisdom beyond his years. There's the bang of future anthems off tracks such as Sunset in LK and especially Cold Mornings, and you got the inkling that Dekay is someone whose pen will be producing plenty of striking, distinctive and quotable material in the years to come. Check his Passionate Example mixtape on Soundcloud.

Again and again during the showcase, I was reminded by one of things that had come up in the earlier discussion. If you put together a word cloud of what Lillis, Ryan and McGann talked about, “community” would be the biggest word on the page.

There was mention of commerce (Lillis wants a private jet and champagne for his Rusangano fam), but it was the idea of community which the three kept rounding back to. You do what you do because you love what you do, but you also need to realise that you’re not alone. There are others around you also putting down markers, learning the ropes, taking the temperature and having a blast.

When the rappers and DJs went into action, that sense of community really came to the fore. It wasn’t about competition, it was about a swathe of performers leaning on each other, backing each other up and sharing the limelight. The MC jam at the end was a perfect example of this ethos.

Sometimes, we get a little carried away by the talk around business and industry and the like. It’s a necessary thing, but it’s not the only thing. It’s good then to take a step back and be reminded just what music can do and especially its power to connect and communicate across all sorts of divides.

In music we still trust.