Alumni Networking Event & Open Mic Night 2025 | Photo Gallery 📸

What happens when talented producers, engineers and artists leave Abbey Road Institute and step into the music industry? Our alumni are making waves. And our recent reunion proved just how far their journeys have taken them.

We recently hosted our first Alumni Networking Event and Open Mic Night at The Forge in Central London. As we celebrate Abbey Road Institute’s 10th anniversary this year, the timing was perfect for bringing everyone together and reconnecting.

As a pilot for future alumni-focused events, the turnout for our inaugural Alumni Networking Event was fantastic! Alongside our music production and post-production graduates, many of our staff, including current and past technicians, Programme Director Carlos Lellis and Campus Manager Darren Suckling, made it down.

What IS the Alumni Networking Event ABOUT?

The aim of the Alumni Networking Event was to bring alumni together, to connect and forge new opportunities. The night was designed as a gateway for alumni to self-promote their musical projects and reconnect with friends.

Situated at an intimate live music venue in central London, the venue, with its dim lights and chilled music, helped create a warm and inviting atmosphere for our alumni to connect. Thus, making it all the easier for them to forge new connections and reunite with our team.

Introducing… NETWORKING

Historically, our alumni have socialised at our annual global graduation parties and listening sessions. With this in mind, we springboarded this live event to create a new space for alumni to unite again. It didn’t take long for the room to be packed full of talented musicians, sound engineers, producers and more.

All photos are credited to Kieran Butler. 

Introducing… The performances

The open mic night was organised via a sign-up-on-the-night approach, and added a sense of magic and community. Graduates were encouraged to share their own music and favourite covers. 

Alumnus and technician Kit Holdridge opened the evening with three stunning acoustic songs. “What Reason” was a sombre and introspective opener, swiftly followed by “Jackpot,” a melancholic offering, exploring the transitional feeling of growing older and feeling progressively tired.  “Take Risks” was the third and final track and is a melodically joyous and euphoric song.

Throughout the night, we had an eclectic range of musical performances, with some debuting new music and others returning to their roots with music created during their time at ARI.

We were also lucky to have an exclusive premiere of Abigail Adams’ new song, “WOULD U?” Released under her artist project, Sloane Monroe. The track was written by Abigail, alongside Kenan Kián and alumnus, Oscar Simons. 

We also had a performance from Lucy Kevil, our front-of-house Administrator, who played exhilarating avant-pop songs “The Final Girl” and “Forget You,” taken from her newly released EP The Final Girl.

Speaking about the purpose of the event, Lucy shares:

“We wanted to create a space where alumni can truly stay connected. When you join Abbey Road Institute, you’re not just enrolling in a course, you’re joining a community of producers, sound engineers, and creatives you will keep in touch with long after. It’s a built-in network of people who’ve been through the same journey, and now you can swap ideas, get fresh perspectives, and team up on future projects.”

All photos are credited to Kieran Butler. 

Reflecting on the night, Carlos shares:

“It was fantastic to see so many alumni at ARI’s network event and to hear the latest about what they’re working on in the industry as musicians, engineers and producers.”

It was great to see so many familiar faces, hear about the new projects, and work our alumni have been busy with since graduating.

We want to extend a huge thank you to Lucy Kevil and Laviea Thomas for bringing this event to life. The night was a big success, and we’re already looking forward to the next one!

Curious to see more?

You can access the entire photo library from our debut Alumni Networking Event on our Flickr account.

If you enjoyed reading this, why not check out some of our alumni interviews and find out what they’re up to now, such as Justina Bryce, Ed Shaw,  Gabrielle Stok, and Ramera Abraham.