.
The Carnegie Rural Spark Awards recognise those groups who have helped to transform the areas in which they live and have achieved something remarkable within their rural community.

The Rural Key Music Project was chosen to represent the North in the esteemed awards and was presented with an award at a lavish ceremony at Cornwall's Eden Project this week.

Now an established and massively respected project, the Rural Key began from humble beginnings, realising a demand for rural musicians and filling the gap, giving bands and artists the time, space, resources and respect needed to develop their careers.

Industry professionals, music stalwarts and the participants themselves work together in this award-winning project.

The course founder and tutor, Paddy Glasgow, is privileged that the Rural Key has been recognised as Northern Ireland's Rural Spark.

"We're honoured that the Rural Key has been identified as a rural champion and chosen as Northern Ireland's representative," he said.
"The project has long given its participants an alternative approach to the music world, offering a sanctuary for acts both locally and further afield to learn about the practical side of the industry and through its completion, many bands and acts have progressed into fields of work that may not have been possible without the help of the course."

As one of the country's most exciting young bands, Derry's The Q have relished the opportunities offered by the course.

"The Rural Key has, and will, change our band," they said. "We've been taken out of the comfort zone in which we were just gliding... Rural Key will give you the know-how and the 'know-who' to go out and make your mark as a serious artist."