Rob Speranza has been involved with Sheffield Live! since its early days, helping establish its television side alongside the station’s existing radio operation.

“I did help initially found the television element of Sheffield Live! Sheffield Live! was a radio station for many years before I had anything to do with it.”

The move into television involved significant lobbying, meetings and fundraising, with Rob becoming a company director during the process.

“It was a lot of lobbying and a lot of work. When you’re approached to be a director of a company, there is a lot to do. There were countless meetings, so many meetings, strategy and raising money and all that kind of stuff. I primarily managed money and made content.”

Today, his role is focused heavily on the development of Sheffield Live’s new premises at the old Tap and Barrel pub, which is undergoing extensive refurbishment.

“We’re looking at tenders and costs every week  now, where the board is meeting every two weeks, to figure out the right method and the right costs. They’re raising money.”

Despite the practical challenges, Rob sees the new building as an exciting opportunity for Sheffield Live! and the wider cultural scene in Castlegate and Sheffield more generally.

“It’s an exciting time,” he said, with the board also looking ahead to events including the upcoming Castlegate Festival.

Outside Sheffield Live, Rob has spent more than two decades working as a filmmaker. He also runs the South Yorkshire Filmmakers Network (the SYFN), which has grown considerably since its creation.

“The network has grown to be the largest network for filmmakers outside of London now. This has been going on for 22 years.”

His work at the SYFN involves independent filmmaking, promotional films, education and film programming. He has made seven feature films as either a producer or line producer, while also directing short films.

“I’ve made seven feature films as either a producer or a line producer. But I also direct and I’ve been directing a few shorts.”

His relationship with Sheffield began in 1996, when he moved to the city to study for a master’s degree at the University of Sheffield. His academic work eventually developed into a PhD examining the relationship between film and poetry.

“I got my doctorate in 2004 but instead of going down the educational route entirely, I still do it part time.”

For Rob, his filmmaking background and work running the SYFN have also shaped his approach to Sheffield Live, particularly its role in giving people a platform.

“So it’s all about listening and trying to pay attention to what your audience wants and then providing a platform for them, and Sheffield Live has done that.”

Looking ahead, Rob is particularly excited about Sheffield Live!’s influence as it moves to its new home.

“I think there’s a lot of possibility in that building. I think it can rapidly expand between the studio work and the pub and what looks like could be a nice beer garden.”

Ultimately, he hopes the new space will contribute to Sheffield’s growing cultural scene.

“I want to see that continue to expand and I want to see people respond to that and head in that direction when it starts to become less under construction and become an established community space.”

As RiteTrax approaches its 11th anniversary, founder Mike Thompson is reflecting on the organisation’s journey from an idea developed in prison to a Sheffield social enterprise supporting young people through music.

Thompson, originally from Greater Manchester, moved to Sheffield at 19 to study history. Having played in bands since the age of 13, he became involved in organising house parties, gigs and club nights while at university.

In his third year, Thompson was arrested for selling drugs and spent just over a year in prison. It was during this time that the idea for RiteTrax began to take shape.

“I was going to come out unemployed, and Adam was unemployed,” he says, referring to co-founder Adam, who he had previously played in a band with. Both were passionate about music but did not want to work in a typical 9-to-5 job.

While in prison, Thompson met Jackie Hewitt-Main, who ran The Cascade Foundation, an organisation supporting prisoners with learning difficulties and acquired brain injuries. Having a degree himself, Thompson began helping Hewitt-Main teach prisoners, an experience which he says was a major inspiration for his later community work.

He also completed a business course while in open prison, using the time to develop Ritetrax as a hypothetical project. After returning home in 2015, Thompson and Adam incorporated the company on September 26th of that year.

Their first event followed at Yellow Arch Studios in October 2015, raising around £1,500 through people supporting Thompson’s vision. In the early years, much of the work was unpaid.

By 2017, RiteTrax had established a base in Castlegate through arts development charity CADS. The building was initially intended simply as a place to work from, but its size meant it could also become a music venue.

“We didn’t really want a music venue,” Thompson says. “We just kind of wanted a place to work from, and it just happens to be big enough to become a music venue.”

The organisation gradually developed its licence and facilities, before closing for around 18 months to redevelop the space. It was ready to reopen just as the COVID-19 lockdown began. RiteTrax eventually reopened with a full licence in summer 2021.

Today, Thompson describes his role as “a bit of everything”, from fundraising and administration to managing staff, while RiteTrax runs sessions with young people and adults and operates its venue and bar.

Music remains central to the organisation’s work, including its involvement in the annual Castlegate Festival. The festival’s music programme has grown since its beginnings in 2018, when an outdoor event was organised on the street.

This year, the festival will focus on local music across Castlegate’s venues. At Plot 22, the evening will begin with a showcase of young people who have worked with the organisation, followed by an open-decks session for local DJs and an afterparty featuring DJs who have previously taken part.

Thompson says the organisation particularly wants to encourage more women and beginners to apply for its open decks opportunities, with the organisation aiming to create line-ups where people can see themselves represented.

The festival will also be free to attend, something Thompson sees as important to making it accessible and allowing people to move between venues.

Looking ahead, Thompson says he would like to see greater consistency in funding, allowing the festival to develop rather than having significantly different budgets each year.

He also hopes the development of the Castlegate area will eventually provide a central space for the festival and allow local arts and music organisations to collaborate more closely.

“Once everywhere’s established and the dust from all the works kind of settled, we can all figure out how we’re going to work together and make it work a bit better,” he says.

For Thompson, the longer-term ambition is for Castlegate to develop a wider calendar of events, particularly during the spring and summer.

“We’re hoping that we’ll be here for a long time,” he says, “and the festival can just carry on growing each year.”