Hayley: In terms of transferable skills, is there anything you would say being a parent prepares you for when it comes to running events? Or is there anything you’ve picked up through running your events that’s informed your behaviour as a parent?

Carlie: I think when you’re going out with your child, whether it’s to an event like mine or elsewhere, you have to be very prepared. Things like snacks and drinks—and naps! Most of the time, we run the event from 2pm to 4.30pm if possible, just to ensure that the children have had time for lunch and their nap. That way, they can come along for a dance and then head off home for tea. You have to plan a lot more when you’ve got children, especially when it’s your first and you’re still getting used to everything, and naps are important for mums too. I’ve found that my child has been the greatest teacher of patience. You have no other option!

Going back to when you were younger, have you always been passionate about music? Was there someone who introduced you to that world in the same way that your events might introduce young attendees?

My older sister. My Mum’s very into music too, but I always seemed to follow [my sister’s] taste. I think my first experience of a music event was going to see Freedom Masses Sound System at Band on the Wall. That was my introduction to live music and it definitely informed the beginnings of my musical tastes. I remember being shocked by the bass that a homemade sound system could create.

Is that the sort of music you were into?

I listened to quite a lot of reggae, jungle and hip hop, which are still my favourite genres. My friends and I were really into the pirate radio scene too. We used to listen to a lot of early soul music, with tapes ready to record [the] tunes. I liked to be out dancing as well, so a lot of electronic music... My favourite albums at the time were Cold Water Music by AIM—the soundtrack of Manchester in early 2000—and Things Fall Apart by The Roots. I loved Spellbound by Rae & Christian ft. Veba too. Veba will always remind me of going out in Manchester in the late 90s, early 2000s. 

What was your experience of the Manchester music scene back then? Did you spend a lot of time out and about?

I suppose I did. Not so much [watching] bands, but I’ve always been into DJs and MCs. I couldn’t stand the pop scene or anything commercial, but I loved underground club nights. Every weekend was dedicated to clubbing until I was around 23. [We’d go to a club night, then] we’d go to a free warehouse party. Details would be released on the night, normally via a party line phone number as a recorded message. I have so many memories of walking around industrial areas of Salford or Ancoats, trying to find the free warehouse parties, following the bassline as a guide.

Are there any particular nights or venues that stand out from that time?

When I was quite young—probably a bit too young—the only places that my friends and I could get into were places like [Jilly’s] Rockworld. It wasn’t my cup of tea at all, but I was just happy to be out. Then as soon as I was old enough to be in better places, I started going to Tangled at The Phoenix. I used to spend a lot of time in Dry Bar as well and I enjoyed the Spellbound night and Fat City club nights and events too. We used to spend quite a lot of time in Planet K on Oldham Street—which is now Mint Lounge—and at the Friends & Family club night at The Roadhouse, but I think Mr Scruff at Music Box—which is now a Tesco—was my favourite. We used to run wild in there! I wasn’t really into the Madchester scene, it really didn’t resonate with me, but I do love The Stone Roses.

Obviously, Manchester’s now known around the world for being an iconic and influential musical city. Did it feel exciting at that time, like the epicentre of culture that the history books—and the city itself—make it out to be?

I suppose, in hindsight, you realise there was a lot of talent in Manchester [at that time]. I was a little bit too young for the Hacienda, so I never went there. I used to go to The Boardwalk quite a lot. But there are a lot of DJs and producers that have done really well and to have been there in the beginning, when they first started playing was ace.

Are you still connected with the people that you met through the music scene in those days?

I’ve been really lucky, I’ve had a lot of people who’ve been open to work with me. I’ve been quite surprised by some of the people who’ve said yes! For instance, I used to love attending the Aficionados events run by Jason Boardman & Moonboots, and Jason was the first big DJ I booked for Playhouse. He was the one who introduced me to Chris Massey at The Refuge [where we now host some of our events]. I work with MC Kwasi too, who hosts a lot of our events. He’s quite a legend in Manchester, so I was delighted to work with him. He’s really brought Playhouse together, just interacting with the families. Everyone loves him!

How did Kwasi first get involved? That must have been a nice full circle moment, with you having been to so many Scruff nights yourself.

Yeah! I’ve attended a lot of Mr Scruff events over the years. It’s a funny story… We were running an event at The Golden Lion in Todmorden with Dan Peter Parker and Boneslimm Forde of the Broken Glass Crew and Kwasi randomly walked in. I couldn’t believe it! I asked him if he’d get up [on the mic]. I offered to pay him and he was like ‘No, you’re not paying me! These are my friends!’. He just quickly became part of the crew and now hosts for us regularly. I suppose Playhouse has been built on the strength of the people that I’ve worked with and the venues who’ve got us in to do events.

“I suppose Playhouse has been built on the strength of the people that I’ve worked with and the venues who’ve got us in to do events.”

Was it ever your plan to work in the music industry?

Not until I set up Playhouse. It wasn’t really part of my plan. I did a degree in Events Management, so I suppose I knew I’d be getting into events, I just didn’t know what sort, and I’ve always enjoyed music and going out… And dancing, particularly dancing! During my degree, I had to deliver an event as part of one of the modules and I chose a family-friendly rave concept. I’d seen [those types of events] in London. There were a few different companies running them and I worked for one for a little while before I told them that I planned to set up myself. I invited them [to the event] and it was all left nicely, but that’s how Playhouse came about.

And then your first event was at Solomon’s Bar in Withington in 2016. Did you have any reservations about setting it up?

Yeah, definitely. My little boy was nearly four when I set it up. It was a friend of mine who actually suggested that we do it together, but I don’t think she was that bothered so I just went on and did it myself. [Even now,] all elements are run by me. Obviously, I have people that help me on the day, but the ticketing, the marketing, I’ve taught myself how to do all of that. And it’s always a risk launching an event. It’s always nerve-racking, but I find that believing in your offering and [marketing it correctly so that it reaches] your target audience is the key to a successful turnout. I quickly realised that events are my passion. Providing a space for people to dance, listen to cool DJs and socialise is very rewarding. Seeing people enjoy themselves is rewarding. So I make time for it, and because I enjoy each element, it doesn’t feel like work. 

Did your own relationship to nights out change when you first became a parent?

Absolutely. It’s just not as possible. The late nights and the early mornings… And having a hangover with a young child is not ideal, that’s definitely a big part of it. After I’d had my first child, Charlie, I was completely done with going out. I wanted to focus just on him.

When you say ‘it’s just not as possible’, what would you say the main barriers are for parents when it comes to going out?

I suppose the expense of getting a babysitter and the hangover [the morning after]. As you get older, it’s harder to recover! 

And you’re quite clear that the event is aimed primarily at parents…

Yes, the event is aimed at parents who used to enjoy clubbing, used to enjoy dancing, but can’t now because they have children. Usually, you end up in an aggressively loud play centre or a park in the rain instead, so I wanted to provide an option that would satisfy the needs of the parents that their children could come along to too. We don’t look after the children at the event, they’re still their parents’ responsibility, but we provide a range of different activities [for them] because once your child’s busy, you can relax a little.

Did you always intend for it to be a series of events or was it originally just a one-off?

No, not really. Like I said earlier, I think I was just lucky that it got picked up by some of the big names in Manchester. It kind of snowballed from there.

Were there any key points along the way at which you noticed things starting to take off?

Being invited to run the event at The Refuge as part of their Electrik Weekenders was the starting point, I think. I carried on doing events there independently and started running regular events at The Golden Lion in Todmorden too, while collaborating with other venues [and organisations] like Whitworth Art Gallery, Hatch, Chillfactore, The Deaf Institute, We Invented The Weekend, Didsbury Arts Festival and The Vintage Festival. We also produced three events for Manchester International Festival in 2021 and 2023. After COVID, I started to work at Freight Island, where I was curating their family friendly events and putting my event on as part of that. It was exciting to be involved in their venue launch and I made some good contracts [through it], but it wasn’t really what I thought it was going to be, so I decided to take the brand out of there. 

At one point, a large corporate events organisation were keen to buy the brand, but I didn’t want to sell it. It would’ve been like selling one of my children, I’d put so much love and hard work into it. It was obviously a compliment and made me realise that what I’d created could become very successful, but that wasn’t the road I was looking to take. 

Do your own children ever help out at events, or with ideas for future parties?

Sometimes. My daughter Astrid is seven and she loves coming and helping out. She’s very efficient! She’s really great, she loves being involved. My son was never interested, really. He’ll come and have a bit of a dance, and have a look at the DJs because he’s into music, but [otherwise] he’s not that keen.

Your kids can always humble you, can’t they! Is there anything that Astrid’s suggested that’s eventually come to fruition?

She often comes up with ideas, and draws me new logos and things like that. She’s very creative herself.

Let’s talk more about putting the event itself together. What goes into planning an event like The Playhouse Project that most attendees will never see or think about?

I like coming up with ideas and linking things, so I like to theme each event. I usually start with the DJ and the type of music, then theme the performers and the activities around that. I don’t always want to be putting out the same thing—I think that would be boring—so I [explore] different genres. Hip hop, drum and bass, we do a lot of house music, techno… The artwork’s really important to me too. I’ve been really lucky with the artists that I work with, they’re all really cool and that comes across in their artwork. You don’t get anything tangible when you book to go to an event, so I think the artwork’s quite important because it tells the story of the event. Benjac [who we work with], he’s a local artist and does a lot of club night artwork, and I also work with a friend of mine called Lindsey Vera, who did a lot of our early artwork. She uses a lot of animal characters, which I think links in nicely. I’m not talking much about what I’m doing or who I am as the [founder] of the brand, so I try to get the concept across in the artwork, which can be difficult, but I think most people get it now. Hopefully, anyway! Sometimes it gets referred to as a kids rave, but I always try to stick to ‘family rave’.

Do people tend to come as a family unit or are there kids who might come with a sibling or an aunt or an uncle and so on?

All different really. I get a lot of friend groups that bring their children along, siblings, mums and dads. Especially if you’re a mum at home, it can be quite lonely, so meeting like-minded people and people that are in your situation [helps]. Playhouse has a lot of regular attendees now, and it’s lovely seeing the same families at each event, supporting what I do, and seeing their children grow up. There’s nothing better.

“Playhouse has a lot of regular attendees now, and it’s lovely seeing the same families at each event, supporting what I do, and seeing their children grow up.”

You mentioned earlier that you have activities for the kids to take part in throughout the event. What was the idea behind that?

If your child’s not enjoying something or they’re bored, it’s time to go [whether you like it or not]! The point is to ensure that they’re occupied so that the parent can enjoy a bit of time to themselves. I like the idea of the kids coming along, having a good dance and getting to bed early for their parents, so that they can have an evening to themselves.

When I started out, I used to work with a performer called ELECTRON, an LED interactive robot. He looked magical. He’d work the dance floor and the kids loved it. Now, I often work with Cequin Circus performers and their disco ball dancers have become a Playhouse trademark over the years. For most events, I book Bloom Baby Play classes, who provide a chilled interactive sensory play session for nought to four year olds. Hula Hula Fun Circus is also a firm favourite with families of all ages—kids and adults!—and indoor and outdoor forest school activities are always a hit as well, plus we have themed arts tables, play dough areas, bubbles and foam machines. I usually work with the same providers each time [on the activities, but] I put a lot of thought into it, as it’s just as important as the DJs to ensure that everyone has a good time.

And of course, you’re clear that the events enable parents to enjoy the music that they love in a way that fits in with their current lifestyle, but what do you think the benefits are for the children who come into contact with The Playhouse Project?

We’re looking to plant seeds into the next generation of music lovers in our city. In 10 or 20 years time, they’ll be out and involved in music. It’s good to socialise with other children as well, though I think it can be quite a sensory overload with all the lights and the music sometimes, so we always try to provide a quiet area where the children can go and relax for a little while too.

Do you think you’d be able to do what you do as well if you weren’t a parent?

No, I wouldn’t have thought so. You remember little touches, don’t you? Especially at an event. The concept of having fun with the kids can only really be understood by a parent. That’s why I often book female DJs who are mums themselves, as they [innately] understand what’s needed.

Have you been surprised by how positively The Playhouse Project’s been received or did you feel it was something that the scene was lacking back when you first set it up?

Absolutely, I’ve been shocked at times and I’ve had many pinch-me moments. I’ve also been very lucky with promotion. I’ve had lots of articles written over the years about The Playhouse Project, which has really helped spread the word. I think the more I’ve done it and the more people have taken notice and as it’s been booked for lots of different things… It seems to have slotted into the scene nicely.

And you’ve been invited to take part in larger scale events as well.

We did the Manchester International Festival for a couple of years, which was obviously one of our main highlights. Being a Mancunian myself, it was an honour to be asked [to get involved]. We did We Invented The Weekend at Media City this year and the year before as well. That's a lovely event and everything is designed for families, so it’s perfect for us. We’ll be there again, no doubt. We did an event at The Vintage Festival in Morecambe as well, that was really nice. I forget what I’ve done, to be honest!

One event I wanted to ask about was New Year’s Eve at Factory International…

Oh, it was amazing. It was pretty magical. We had a lot of support from the venue on the day of the event as well. We worked with Eve’s Drop Collective, a collective of female DJs, and they played some great music. We had a forest school and we had baby sensory play in a quieter area. We had MC Kwasi too, and we had lots of different performers, so visually it was nice as well. 

Meanwhile, you now run your own events regularly from The Refuge as well. What makes that a good fit as a venue for Playhouse?

I just think it’s a really lovely venue. It’s a really elegant, beautiful venue, so it’s really nice to work with them.

Wherever they come into contact with you, how would you ideally like attendees to describe their experience at a Playhouse event?

Just that it was a nice, easy experience for them. That the facilities were right. And it’s all about the music really with Playhouse, so I hope to always get that right too!

You also now run The Dance Project—The Playhouse Project’s sister brand—‘a suburban club night’ for over 18s taking the essence of all your experiences in Manchester and bringing them to your new locale of Glossop. Tell me how that idea developed. 

I moved to Glossop in 2010, as I wanted to settle down, to have children and to develop my career, and I set up The Dance Project in April 2022. There’s a lot of bars and pubs in Glossop, but there’s not much of a nightlife scene and it’s £40 to get home in a taxi from Manchester City Centre. I was already working with a lot of the DJs anyway, so it kind of made sense to start something. We’ve just done our ninth event in Glossop, and have recently [secured] a residency at The Refuge, which I’m really happy about. So far, we’ve worked with Dave Haslam, Chad Jackson, James Holroyd, Veba, Jon da Silva, Herbie Saccani, Sticky Heat… It’s all been pretty well received and they’re a bit of a tough crowd in Glossop.

How do you go about selecting your lineups for each event? Would you say you have a music policy?

I think with The Dance Project, when I book a DJ, I have to think more about the crowd, whereas with Playhouse, I book what I enjoy and so far it’s worked out really well. But with The Dance Project, I have to play to the crowd. I think Playhouse stuff is quite instinct-led. As I say, it’s just stuff that I like really, which probably sounds quite selfish! For example, we worked with Me Gusta Collective on one of them and that was brilliant. I love what they’re doing, it’s very different, and I’d like to start getting on more of that sort of Latin, almost tropical music that you just can’t not dance to. Working with DJ Woody was a highlight too. I absolutely love his AV shows and I’ve been a fan for years. It’s all about Hacienda type DJs around Glossop. It’s an older crowd, maybe 30 plus, though I’ve had pensioners come along, so it’s for everyone! I’m glad that I manage to reach all areas. I’ve got about 60 to 70 regulars now that come to each [Dance Project event].

In terms of the artists that play Playhouse, do they ever bring their kids with them to events?

Definitely. One of the first big DJs that worked with me was Lil Fee—she was a drummer in The Whip and she helped me get the event going—and she always brings her children. More often than not, activity providers bring their children too. I think [the gig would] only be suitable for a DJ who’s got children really, because they understand that concept of having fun with the families.

Is Kwasi an important part of that too?

He kind of brings it all together. Announcements, getting people up dancing—you can’t sit down when Kwasi’s on the mic! Interacting with the children and the parents as well.

Do you approach the planning of both events differently? For instance, what sort of things do you consider at Playhouse events that you don’t need to when it comes to The Dance Project? 

I think there’s less planning with The Dance Project, because that’s solely about the music. There’s a lot more that goes into Playhouse with all the activities, plus we set the music level for the children’s comfort. My risk assessments are more in-depth too, as safety is essential when you’re inviting families to an event.

Are you able to enjoy the events on the day, or are you often too busy working?

Normally for the last hour or so, depending on the scale of the event. I always manage to enjoy them in some way though, even if I’m busy. It’s just nice to see people so happy and enjoying themselves. It’s a break from the [mundanity] of everyday life. 

That must be really fulfilling, to know that you’ve created that kind of space for people. Do you ever feel far away from that live element, especially when you’re in the planning stages?

I like all aspects of it. I prefer it on the day, when everyone’s in and enjoying it, and I can kind of relax. But you can be very critical of your own work, so sometimes even when everyone else is loving it, you’re still like ‘Ah, there’s something not right’. It’s always evolving I suppose, in terms of ideas and what would work for next time. 

And already, you’ve partnered with so many of Manchester’s most iconic venues, including Band on the Wall, Aviva Studios, The Deaf Institute and more. How does it feel to be making your mark professionally on a scene that’s always been such a big part of your personal life?

I’m really proud of it. I never thought it would go on so long, and I’ve been really lucky with the opportunities I’ve had. I’ve worked with some brilliant DJs and venues.

Obviously, your personal experiences have massively shaped what you do now with both The Playhouse Project and The Dance Project, but would you say the work has shaped you at all?

You get a lot of personal growth from your career, and I’ve grown with the events in a lot of ways. To see what I’ve built as well, over the years, or to be out in Manchester and have someone come up [to me] and know that I do the event, that's nice. Part of it for me, too, is the concept getting out there for other people to run events like Playhouse and for it to become something available to all parents. There seem to be a lot popping up now, which I think is great.

“You get a lot of personal growth from your career, and I’ve grown with the events in a lot of ways.”

That’s nice, that you’re encouraging of other promoters putting on similar events. 

I think it depends on your personality. Not everybody is so open. But it can be a big support, because we all understand what each other are going through. I often consult with Baby Rock Sampler, who also run gigs for families. We try to support each other and bounce ideas around.

Would you say you’ve found community through music throughout your life more generally?

Definitely. I think people connect over music, don’t they? Plus, dancing is good for mental health. Most of my friends I’ve met through being out and listening to music, and I do meet quite a lot of people at the events that come along from when I used to go out, so that’s nice. Meeting up again as parents is a strange but lovely experience.

Do you think that running the events has deepened your connection to music, or changed how you engage with it?

I love being out dancing, so it’s perfect. I’m constantly thinking ‘Ooh these would be good for a rave’.

As the founder, what’s been the most satisfying part of The Playhouse Project and The Dance Project’s journey so far?

I think the Factory International events have been the best, and being part of the Manchester International Festival. Being a Mancunian, I was so happy about that and it means that I’m reaching more people. I love looking around and seeing everyone happy and dancing and enjoying it, just having a couple of hours out of everyday life.

What advice would you offer to someone similarly passionate about creating a space for their community?

I think you learn the most when you’re out of your comfort zone, so it’s just a case of being brave and stepping out of your comfort zone. That’s where you get the most growth. I think you learn the most in those situations.

And finally, what do you hope your kids take away from seeing their mum follow her passion?

I hope to inspire them just to follow their instincts, especially creatively. As I always say to my children, you can do anything you want in life, but you have to be prepared to put the work in.