Heavy Group launches The Heavy Network, debuts groundbreaking new podcast ‘On Wednesdays We Wear Black’

21 January 2021 - Press release

AN UNINHIBITED LOOK AT SEX, RACISM, MUSIC AND ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLE.
DIVERSIFYING THE SPACE AND ELEVATING UNDERREPRESENTED AND QUEER VOICES .
HOSTED BY:
KERRANG! RADIO'S SOPHIE K (she/her),
RADIO PRESENTER ALYX HOLCOME (she/her),
JOURNALIST AND TIKTOK STAR YASMINE SUMMAN (they/them).
FIRST EPISODE AVAILABLE NOW ON ALL MAJOR PLATFORMS

Heavy Group is hitting 2021 running with the launch of creative house The Heavy Network, a new home for content creators across the alternative space. The company also known for its flagship Heavy Music Awards – one of lockdown’s success stories after the fourth annual 2020 event moved online and welcomed over 177,000 live viewers. The network is launching an eclectic range of shows through 2021 including regular podcasts and streams focused around rock, metal and alternative culture and is committed to elevating under represented voices. Hosted by a cast of hugely exciting creators, many of whom have already achieved great success in their own right.

Three more new shows are already slated to launch on The Heavy Network through February and March 2021. The Heavy Network is a safe space for creators to connect with people in the alternative music space & culture, helping with content creation, distribution, promotion and more whilst giving the shows autonomy over their output.

Heavy Group’s Dave Bradley (he/him) said: “Every day working in music we encounter incredible talent from all walks of life, and after building up the Heavy Music Awards we wanted to extend our scope to offer even more creators a chance to shine and tell their own stories. Above all, we’re not building anything to simply throw it at an audience – these are a celebration of the collaborative nature of the rock scene, and fan interaction will play a huge part in how each show evolves.”
 
The first show to launch is weekly podcast 'On Wednesdays We Wear Black', with the first episode available now on all major podcast platforms. Hosted by Kerrang! Radio's Sophie K, radio presenter and musician Alyx Holcombe and journalist and TikTok extraordinaire  Yasmine Summan, ‘...We Wear Black’ is an uninhibited look at sex, racism, music and alternative lifestyle – the chats alternative women and non-binary people have behind closed doors. Led by a cross-generational crew of people of colour from different heritage, the show aims to diversify the space and provide an entertaining platform not only to tackle unspoken issues, but for candid and often hilarious discussions that they are often excluded from.

On launching the first episode, Sophie K – Kerrang! Breakfast Show mainstay and previous HMA's Awards host – said:
“I noticed that the variety of podcasts I listen to had certain similarities. I want to hear diverse voices, I want things to sometimes be challenging but also hilarious and crude. I also want to feel that I'm hanging out with my mates at the pub rather than listening to some elite backstage conversation. However I couldn’t find that in the alternative space. I feel that for too long certain voices have been left out of rock conversations.

“Every year when pride or black history month comes along we get wheeled out to talk about how we exist in this space. Now I want to create a space where the outcasts can feel represented, whether someone is queer, melanin-blessed, female or non-binary, this is a space we can all hang out and talk about everything from tampons to rock to fan fiction without getting censored by some guy who finds it offensive.

Alyx and Yasmine are two of the most exciting people in the industry right now, and they continue to amaze me with their wit and knowledge. The rock industry has never ever heard anything like this before and I know it will shock a lot of people, but that’s ok because we are the new voice of the alternative scene.”