As an extended version of the prolonged movement, the Reading and Leeds Festivals took the initiative to make every deaf music lover feel included with interpreters.
This weekend music fans across the globe have gathered to experience the music of stars like Billie Eilish, Sam Fender, and the Killers perform at the Reading and Leeds Festivals. There has been increased use of on-site sign language interpreters for deaf audience members. With this new inclusion, the experience becomes more enthralling for every deaf attendee. This step was taken due to movement with the volunteers at the Glastonbury Festival decades ago. The stage was equipped with essential professional services including Download, Latitude, Wilderness, and Wireless.
One of several performance interpreters this weekend, Rachel Wilkins, shared about her younger days memories and how there had been “so many barriers” for her when she was younger. She said, “There are many deaf people who absolutely love hip-hop as much as I do,” Furthermore, she added, “So I just couldn’t believe my luck when I was able to actually interpret this music and make it accessible. “We have great deaf audiences, huge deaf audiences who enjoy this music so much, so it’s a no-brainer.”
36-year-old Breish Rowe, one of the attendees of the festival has to travel from her hometown Derbyshire to Leeds Festival this weekend, just to experience the vibe of a grand festival like this one that allows deaf music lovers to groove as well. She was deaf since birth but she became a music lover by using hearing aids along with British Sign Language (BSL). She said, “Going to festivals with BSL access allows me to access songs in a way I couldn’t on my own.” Being thrilled by the experience she said, “Even the music I already know – it just sounds so different in a live setting and BSL access allows me to follow along regardless.”
She also confessed, “The interpreters also do an amazing job of conveying the atmosphere by sharing the crowd’s reaction and suchlike, which makes me feel part of it along with everyone else.” She generously appreciated the initiative, and said, “That taste of equality and access is inspiring – it’ll surely have an influence beyond the scope of festivals, showing what access can and should look like.” This has been a long time since the music industry has made deaf audiences feel included and they are looking for more initiatives such as this one in the future as well.
