Ones2Watch Home

Photos courtesy of The GREAT Campaign    

From Bowie to The Beatles, Coldplay to Adele, Ed Sheeran to Dua Lipa, the UK is famous for producing some of the world’s most prominent artists. These musicians have influenced global culture by pushing boundaries and challenging audiences to see and hear things differently. However, there’s more to UK music than meets the eye, or in this case, our ears, and that’s where The GREAT campaign comes in.

To celebrate the UK’s diverse range of music talent, the 2022 GREAT Calling Campaign, in partnership with British-born and based music experience platform Sofar Sounds, showcased some of the most exciting emerging talent coming out of the UK through a series of intimate gigs across Manhattan and Brooklyn. Iconic red British telephone booths took up residence at four different locations across the city. When hearing the phone ring, passerbys could pick it up and say, “I want to see things differently,” and automatically be entered into a giveaway to win tickets to a slew of different events that showcase British stars, lifestyles, interests, and cultural pursuits, including music. Acts during the music segment of the month included Priya Ragu, Penelope Isles, Puma Blue, Jake Isaac, Hamzaa, and more, highlighting an exciting, eclectic hotbed of talent brewing across the pond.

Ones To Watch was able to talk with UK Trade Commissioner to North America Emma Wade Smith and Will Hanley, Commercial Partnerships, Sofar Sounds, about the creation and execution of the month-long celebration of the UK’s multi-faceted culture.

Ones To Watch: Can you tell me about the early days of drafting the concept of for the GREAT Calling?  

Emma: The GREAT campaign has been showcasing the best of the UK to the world for a decade. With the ending of transatlantic travel restrictions from the COVID pandemic, we wanted to reconnect with our friends in America and treat New Yorkers to a unique set of experiences to remind people of all that the UK has to offer and why we are a fantastic place to visit, study, and do business.

Over the last month, with our GREAT Calling Campaign, we have shown US audiences a different side of the UK. Yes, we are known for and proud of Downton Abbey, castles, and fish and chips. But there is so much more to the UK, and we wanted to show US audiences a few aspects of the UK that are not always portrayed in film and media.

It is always a good time to visit the UK, but this summer is set to be like no other. To give just a small taster of what’s going on:

- June celebrations for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, celebrating 70 years on the throne
- Festival Unboxed - A nationwide celebration of culture and creativity
- 75th Anniversary of the Edinburgh Festivals
- Safe To Be Me - A global LGBT conference hosted in London, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the first official London Pride marches.

What were some challenges you faced during the creation and planning process?

Emma: Throughout our planning, our top priority was to ensure that, in the context of COVID, all our events were safe and that our guests and artists felt comfortable attending. After that, our biggest challenge was deciding which aspects of UK culture to promote, given that there is so much to choose from! We finally decided to focus on food, innovation, sport, and music. But we could easily have added in film, gaming, technology, visual arts, and so much more!

We were fortunate to work with fantastic partners throughout, including Nadiya Hussain, creative geniuses Bompas & Parr, the Premier League, and SoFar Sounds. Their expertise is world-class, enabling us to let their creativity and talent tell a unique story about the UK.

What has been your favorite experience from the event, and what has been the most fulfilling aspect of seeing The GREAT Calling come to fruition?

Emma: Each of our events has been fantastic, making it very hard to choose a favourite! As a foodie, it was delicious to watch Nadiya Hussain cook up a storm in the kitchen. As a sports fan, it was wonderful to welcome 400 die-hard soccer fans to Brooklyn for an immersive Premier League matchday experience. While the rest of the world have long been soccer fans, the US has been slower to catch on, but thanks to shows like Ted Lasso, there has been a real rise in interest in the sport. It’s now the fourth most popular sport in the USA, with NBC broadcasting all the Premier League matches. And getting to dine with Mary Seacole, Charles Darwin, William Shakespeare, and Agatha Christie at the world’s first AI Banquet - our Innovation event - was a dream come true.

That said, I also love live music, so it has been wonderful to work with SoFar Sounds to create a platform for some of the UK’s up-and-coming musicians. We have had gigs in distilleries, arts clubs, and even an ice cream factory. It is fabulous to see such a diverse mix of artists - who are already making waves in the UK - perform for US audiences as part of our GREAT Calling campaign, and begin to build a following here too.

Who’s idea was it to put the red telephone booths all over NYC? Please tell me you took a photo with one of them!

Emma: In promoting the UK, we try to celebrate our heritage as well as showcase the modern aspects of the UK. The phone booths are an iconic part of our heritage as well as being an example of brilliant British design. And I didn’t just take one photo; I visited every single one as they popped up everywhere from Brooklyn to Astor Place, Meatpacking to Midtown. It was great to watch people’s reactions to the phone booth - to see the crowds of people lining up to take photos with them and to see their reaction when the phone actually rang and they got to win tickets to our events to experience a less familiar side of the UK.

What is your favorite thing about UK music culture?

Emma: I love the variety and the individuality of UK music. UK musicians often talk about the community of UK musicians and how they are supported and encouraged to succeed, either through local communities or by institutions like the BBC that champions new music through their festivals, their events, or their annual ‘Sound of’ list. It is really pleasing that the government plays a part in this through schemes like the Music Export Growth Scheme or the British Music Embassy at SXSW, which helps UK artists reach new audiences overseas.

Also, there is nothing quite like experiencing a UK festival; everyone should do it at some stage in their life. From Green Man to Glastonbury, T in the Park, or Great Escape - there is a festival experience for everyone.

When did SoFar Sounds come into the picture, and can you shine a light on how the planning of the secret showcases went?

Emma: New York is a city full of incredible live music, so we knew we needed to create something special. SoGar was a natural fit for us, given their focus on up-and-coming talent and their love of taking live music back to its roots. By using unusual venues and by not releasing artists’ names in advance, it curates audiences that are there for all the right reasons and who are true music lovers. SoFar began in London and now does shows in 400 cities worldwide. They demonstrate UK creativity at its best.

What were some ideas that were great but were ultimately passed on?

Given the scale of our options, there were naturally quite a lot of ideas that did not make the final cut, mainly due to COVID restrictions. The great news on that, though, is that we have a stock of ideas waiting to see the light of day at some point in the future.

I’m sure that many amazing up-and-coming artists coming out of the UK were considered for this event! How did you go about finding and choosing the artists that ultimately ended up performing?

Will: SoFar has an incredibly large contact book when it comes to performers, collated over more than a decade of our exclusive events around the world. SoFar’s talent team is excellent, but every member of SoFar is of course, a massive music fan, finding the best gigs in the underground scenes across the globe, so we all pitch in. The UK, in particular, is one of our strongest territories, in fact, where the company was born and home to a diverse range of acts spanning a massive breadth of genres and influences. So when it came to the GREAT Campaign, we looked down this long list of truly excellent performers with the goals of both representing the music scene in the UK and also those acts that are of the moment NOW; the ones to watch. I must say it was very difficult to decide on the line-up due to the scope of brilliant performers on the up in the UK. That said, we found the final selection to be the best representation of the diverse array of sounds and cultures that makes up the British music scene.

Which secret showcase was your favorite?

Will: Our last event was an absolute showstopper. A truly grand finale, closing an inimitable series of wonderful music events. Rose Betts, Geo Jordan, and finally Hamzaa took to the stage at the National Arts Club, a venue with a lot of class and also home to a gorgeous Steinway grand piano.

Can we expect The GREAT Calling to become a yearly event? (I really hope so!)

Emma: The US is an incredibly important market for the UK, given the close relationship between our two countries and people. I would love to bring GREAT Calling back to the US; we have so much more to show! That said, we also have a lot of activity going on outside of this particular campaign. We have just wrapped up the British Music Embassy at SXSW, showcasing more amazing UK music like Self Esteem and Priya Ragu. And keep an eye out for some major celebrations across the US for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June.

Who is a UK musician that people should definitely be listening to right now?

Will: So hard to choose! But, of course, I would say to look at the line-up from the GREAT Calling events - Penelope Isles, I’m certain, are destined for greatness or Hamzaa if you’re specifically looking for a solo artist. She has a beautifully soulful voice that cannot be compared. If you need to have someone outside of our line-up, then Knucks.