Celebrating neurodiversity in music

This year the music industry has seen record-breaking tours from the likes of Beyonce and Taylor Swift as well as major performances from artists across the globe!

One of the standout performances from this year was Lewis Capaldi’s headline act at the Glastonbury festival where the crowd sung his song back to him after his tics interfered. This heartwarming moment happened after he recently opened up about his Tourette’s Syndrome.

Other chart-topping artists have followed in Capaldi’s footsteps of transparency around neurodivergence, with Robbie Williams, Doja Cat, Billie Ellish and Example all speaking up about personal experiences this year.

The celebrity openness about their own experience has been refreshing and inspiring, with new research from the London College of Contemporary Music (LCCM) finding that over half (54%) of those aged 16-24 agree that neurodiverse music and musicians have challenged some of their perceptions around neurodiversity.

Aston spoke to musician Samantha Penman a.k.a Retro Fly and JD Donovan, industry liasion at London College of Contemporary Music (LCCM).

Photo by John Matychuk on Unsplash