Immersed! is a multi-media Festival curated by Creative Industries students at USW, working in partnership with the local community in aid of climate change charity, Music Declares Emergency.

The immersive project has been running for five years and involves intensive collaboration with multiple stakeholders, including cross-subject disciplines, music fans, commercial venues, charities, professional bodies, booking agents, artists, communities, policymakers, and technicians.

Working with industry, students are tasked with every aspect of music programming, performance, promotion, and production of a real-life festival in a task that encourages vocational skills and network building. A wide range of personal qualities, behaviours and transferable skills that encompass all six nominated institutional graduate attributes of commercial awareness, communication, digital literacy, project management, leadership, innovation, and enterprise are nurtured throughout the project. 

The Evolution of Immersed! Festival

Immersed! has evolved from a programme that mainly featured student bands, to multi-platinum and Ivor Novello award-winning headliners such as Richard Ashcroft, Peter Doherty, Tom Greenham, Bad Sounds and Bang Bang Romeo, selling out 1000-capacity city centre venue, Tramshed.

During the pandemic, the festival went online attracting an audience of over 10,000. Then in 2022, Immersed! hosted the main fringe event for BBC 6 Music's first festival in Wales, featuring five stages with more than 60 artists over three days and a two-story city centre mural designed by IIIustration students.

In 2023 we celebrated our 5th birthday with MOBO award-winning rapper Lady Leshurr headlining alongside a vibrant awards show and programme of performing arts, workshops and festival experience aligned with the Immersed mission to raise awareness of climate change and promote sustainability.

Post-festival you can relive the festival highlights with our digital broadcast Immersed TV featuring highlights from the main stage, interviews and for 2023, a screening of ‘5 Years’, a documentary on the Immersed! legacy. 

Music Declares Emergency 

As part of its partnership work with Music Declares Emergency, Immersed! aims to highlight the effects of climate change and help promote a greener, more sustainable future.

Watch the highlights from Immersed! Festival 2022.

For more information on Immersed! visit the Immersed! Website.