Joel Mills

Joel Mills has worked in the music sector for over 25 years, with a background that bridges both the commercial and funded sector. She began her career working in club and festival sound and production for global music dance club, Whirl-Y-Gig, alongside managing events and stages at various festivals such as Stoke Newington Festival and The Big Chill. She also shaped a diverse music programme as Programming and Venue Manager at The Spitz in East London. 

As a freelance music event manager, commercial promoter clients included SJM Concerts, Mean Fiddler, Eat Your Own Ears and Festival Republic, and Serious International Music Producers, where she worked on a wide range of shows from mainstream pop to jazz and folk, from Herbie Hancock, Sufjan Stevens to the Arctic Monkeys and Foo Fighters. She also worked in artist management and developing project and managing tours.  

Joel joined the British Council in 2009. During that time, she worked considerably with developing programmes in South Asia, East Asia and sub- Saharan Africa. She spent seven months in South Africa as Interim Director Arts, Sub-Saharan Africa. Since joining the Music team she has enjoyed working on a number of major events including Resound, British Council’s 75th Anniversary Concert; overseeing the British Council's collaborative commissions and contribution to London 2012 River of Music; The Light Surgeons' audio-visual and music live cinema commission SuperEveryhing*; Folk Nations, a project linking India and UK folk artists through residencies exploring cultural heritage as well as developing numerous collaborative and professional development programmes with music sector partners including The Great Escape, SXSW.