WaterBear students in Sheffield will start the new term with a 9am coffee shop rave at WaterBear’s Sheffield campus on Monday Sept 21, 2026, with DJ Lamour welcoming them back for the first day of teaching. The morning event puts music and coffee at the heart of the welcome, alongside a Freshers programme featuring live gigs, a Wub Club takeover and creative workshops, a newly refurbished Green Room venue and scholarships supporting emerging talent.
The coffee-led welcome offers students another way to meet and enjoy music together, against a backdrop of changing habits around alcohol. NHS England’s Health Survey for England 2024 found that 39% of men and 31% of women aged 16–24 had not drunk alcohol in the previous 12 months.
WaterBear’s Sheffield Freshers programme runs from Monday Sept 14, 2026 to Thursday Sept 17, 2026. It includes Flat Moon, supported by Crimson and Imaginary Friends, at the Green Room; Tigercub with Bad Silence and DISC at Corporation; a poster-making workshop with Sheffield artist Tom J Newell; and a Wub Club takeover featuring DJ Jackum, 0pm, Dalts, Forca, Mr Dubz and Quiss. The Flat Moon show is presented by 48Volts, the Sheffield live music promotion collective run by WaterBear students Kian Welsh and Dom Collison. Following pilot activity around Tramlines, the Green Room provides a base for students to put on their own events with support from WaterBear’s events team, alongside gigs, club nights, open mics, showcases and external bookings. Students can shadow sound engineers and gain stage management and front-of-house experience, connecting their studies with the practical work that keeps Sheffield’s grassroots music scene moving.
Marina Madden – Careers, Industry & Events Manager WaterBear Sheffield comments: “Sheffield has an incredible musical heritage and a thriving grassroots scene, and we wanted the WaterBear Green Room to continue to be part of that story. The venue gives our students the chance to learn by doing, putting on events, performing, working behind the scenes and connecting with audiences in a real-world environment. It’s a space for creativity, collaboration and community, and we’re really excited to see both our students and the wider Sheffield music scene benefit from it.”
In Sheffield, WaterBear’s teaching base in the Gatecrasher building, on the site of the former superclub, includes recording and live performance facilities alongside Mac suites and mentoring rooms. The Green Room adds a working grassroots venue to that foundation, connecting study with the stages, audiences and practical experience that help the city’s next generation of music talent develop.
WaterBear’s scholarship programme offers another route for talent to develop. Published partnerships include a full-tuition master’s scholarship with Ronan Keating, undergraduate scholarships with DJ AG and Toddla T’s Steeze Factory, and community scholarships with AudioActive in Brighton. The undergraduate awards cover tuition for three-year degrees. Announced recipients include Ronan Keating scholarship winner Lauren Black and DJ AG scholarship winner Jimmy Curtin, who is joining the BA (Hons) Professional Music (Production) course in Sheffield this academic year.
Sheffield students are also reaching new audiences beyond the college. Bitcrush — Francesca Douglas Gray, Amalie Rungapadiachy and Dominic Wilson — have featured on BBC Radio 1 Introducing Rock and will play their debut show at the WaterBear Green Room on Friday Oct 9, 2026.
The new academic year also arrives amid fresh activity from Sheffield students. Level 6 student Milly Pye has released new single ‘It’s a Gift’, featuring fellow Sheffield students Reuben Moss, George Price and Daniel Cheetham and produced by Level 6 student Charlie Haigh.
For more information on WaterBear’s Sheffield Freshers programme and entry arrangements, visit: https://waterbear.org.uk/freshers/sheffield/
