THE DISCUSSION
Our all-male panel address feelings of being left behind, unable to move on or accept life how it is now. Touching on workaholism in the music business, the effects of life change, the pandemic and the tools to effectively cope.
THE CHAIR
Matt Thomas, Music Support Trustee – Matt has been working in the music industry since 1991 in major record labels, when he became an artist manager, co-managing a re-formed Squeeze and a variety of other artists. Squeeze’s notorious difficulties helped shape Matt’s interest in the complex dynamics within bands, and the art of dispute resolution. This led him to train as a mediator, with National Family Mediation and the London School Of Mediation and become an accredited mediator with the Society Of Mediators and the Civil Mediation Council.
Sober since 2006 Matt began to realign his career objectives with his life choices and left full-time commercial management in order to focus on conflict resolution and crisis management, and in 2011 also began to act as a touring mediator, companion and chaperone for vulnerable artists.
Matt is a founder of iCAAD – International Conferences on Addiction and Associated Disorders, the biggest addictions and mental health conference company in Europe.
THE PANEL
ALASTAIR COOMES, PSYCHOTHERAPIST
As a BCAP integrative relational therapist Alastair works with a range of individuals, couples and families in central London. Before his psychotherapy career he was a guitarist and worked in music PR as well as being a neurodiversity teacher, coach and assessor. He is a member of the men’s psychology network and is currently completing a joint DCPSYCH doctoral programme with research centring around men’s experience of therapy post-suicide attempt
J-SOL, SINGER / SONGWRITER
East London singer/songwriter J-Sol is carrying the torch for the UK’s ever-evolving R&B scene. 2018 saw him release a powerful live performance of his song ‘Bullet in My Heart,’ written about the sudden passing of his mother which went on to go viral with over 20 million views. During his appearance on X-Factor he spoke openly about his battle with grief and how it impacted his mental health and caused depression.
MAX GOLFAR, HOOTANANNY
Max is known for his work as a Promoter, Programmer and DJ, working as the Head of Music & Events for London based music venue Hootananny, Brixton. He is also the founder of event brand & label Swing & Bass. He DJ’s under the alias Fizzy Gillespie and performs regularly at festivals and clubs across the country and internationally.
SIMON JAY, THRIVE MENTAL WELLBEING
Simon is Commercial Director at Thrive, the NHS approved app that supports the prevention, early detection and self-management of common mental health conditions. His passion for mental health revolves around providing accessible, affordable mental healthcare support to people globally. Having experienced severe depression in his late teens, whilst being involved in the music industry, Simon hopes that by being open about his own experience, others will realise that it’s OK not to be OK.
SKIDDLE: We are proud to partner with Skiddle, the UK’s most innovative primary ticket outlet and largest events guide. To discover more about the challenges and obstacles promoters face they conducted a survey, discovering that the majority feel their mental health and wellbeing is dramatically affected by their work in the events industry.
Thanks to support from the BRIT Trust, BPI, BRIT Awards and partners from the recorded music sector, we are proud to offer FREE access for a limited period to THRIVE, the NHS approved mental health app, with over 100 hours of content and clinically designed mental health tools, helping you manage stress, anxiety and depression.
