Inside the Sound Roots Artist Mentoring Pathway: Chris Avery of Filkin’s Drift shares his experiences
The Sound Roots Artist Mentoring Pathway has been running since 2018 and equips emerging folk, roots and acoustic musicians with the skills, networks and experience needed to build their music careers sustainably.
Over 12 months, this intensive pathway is designed to support early-career artists in demystifying the international music industry and developing their professional networks and profiles.
The Sound Roots cohort of mentees for 2025–2026 includes Ed Blunt, Lucy Grubb, Anna McLuckie and Filkin’s Drift. They’ve already performed at FolkEast, Focus Wales and Manchester Folk Festival. Here, Chris Avery of Filkin’s Drift reflects on his experience so far and the current state of the industry:
Like much of the world, the music scene is in crisis – but not for multi-platinum artists like Coldplay or Taylor Swift. After ten sold-out nights at Wembley and 149 shows across five continents, respectively, they’re doing just fine. The crisis lies in the grassroots and emerging artist scene.
Grassroots venues are closing at a terrifying rate: in 2023, the UK lost two every week, according to the Music Venue Trust. Musicians are struggling to make a sustainable living, with nearly half reporting that lack of income is a barrier to their career (Musicians’ Census 2023). And getting audiences out to small gigs is harder than ever: the Music Venue Trust found that average attendances dropped by 15.4% between 2023 and 2024.
This is why the Sounds Roots Artist Mentoring Pathway is such a lifeline for early career musicians. I have been on the pathway with my duo, Filkin’s Drift, since March ’25 and it has been totally transformative.
Our monthly mentoring has helped us chart a clear course through a confusing industry. We’re now building our career through a more intentional touring schedule. Previously intimidating words like publishing and PR have been demystified and we better understand how to maximise the impact of an album release.
The experience of showcasing at conferences has given us greater resilience. We can now build a more effective showcase set and have a sense of when it’s the right time to showcase. There’s little point in playing in front of the right people if it’s not the right moment.
Most of all, it has helped us to see ourselves as part of a wider music ecosystem. It has taught us how to help industry professionals help us – to see them not as gatekeepers, but as people who are doing their best to keep the grassroots scene afloat. Their jobs are becoming harder every year and they need artists who can approach them with the right information at the right time.
Because ultimately, keeping this fragile ecosystem alive is a shared responsibility. Artists, venues and industry professionals are all interdependent. The only way we’ll weather this crisis is by helping each other.
Chris Avery – Filkin’s Drift
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