BCRC Rock School

Posted by Ardie In .

Alan McCandless has always wanted to be in a band, but he didn’t think he’d be taken seriously because of his disability. He was at the Ballymoney Community Resource Centre in County Antrim when he was overheard singing, and the staff thought it was the radio. They were blown away by this undiscovered talent. Because of his disability he sometimes struggles with speech, but singing seemed to come naturally to him.

Following Alan’s talent getting out in the open he became inspired to set up his own band as he wanted to learn more about music and performance, and offer other people in the community the chance to learn with him. He set up the BCRC Rock School as this place to learn more about music, and through this a band was formed, The Causeway Crew.

Since getting a few of his classmates involved, The Causeway Crew has grown to be a large band of about 20 musicians and singers, and is made up of both disabled and more able-bodied people in the local area, and they’ve started to gain a following. The band has even been booked to perform at the Olympic torch carrying ceremony when it passes through the area.

The backing and support of Live UnLtd helped get the band off the ground, and they are now looking at ways of sustaining themselves. They currently play gigs, and their aim is to produce their first CD and make it available to buy so that the band can get more equipment and fund transport for travelling to these gigs.

Live UnLtd provided the backing and support to help the band get going, and funding also came from other sources such as Children In Need, which led to Alan and his band being featured on The One Show with Jedward. Check out the video below to watch The Causeway Crew rocking out with Jedward!