Now, sticking with music, meet Eden, or DJ Steady, as she’s also known. She’s got a super busy summer ahead, getting ready to perform at festivals across the UK and in Europe. Watch this.

Most of my friends like pop music and dance, but I like jungle, house, drum and bass. I like fast music rather than music with loads of lines of lyrics.

Meet Eden’s most devoted fans, who are helping her finalize her set ahead of a busy summer of gigs. Not bad, considering she only started learning 18 months ago.

My husband actually bought some decks off a friend, thinking that he was going to learn how to do it; … and Eden was just really interested. So, she started playing around with, like, software on the laptop, and we realised that she was becoming more and more involved.

It took a year before they found someone who was willing to teach a then eight year old how to play house music. But Eden was a fast learner. Less than two months later, she DJed her own ninth birthday party.

She placed eighth in a national DJ competition, for adults no less, and has played some daytime family club events. But now DJ Steady is about to play music festivals, such as Raver Tots and In It Together for the first time. She’s also going to be flown to Ibiza for a special one-off gig.

Sometimes if something goes wrong, I’m scared it might go wrong at the event, but most of the time, I feel good about everything.

This is the deck stand …

Out of respect for the neighbours, Eden doesn’t practise after 8:30 p.m. But the family are also converting dad’s man cave into a studio for her, which will be soundproofed.

So, you’re going to have lights here, like flashing lights?

Yes.

We’ve worked really hard to find safe spaces and environments for her to work, and she’s always chaperoned. She’s never left to kind of wander around clubs or anything on her own. There’s kind of a wellness coach there, there’s people who do mentoring on a variety of subjects, she’s got kind of a full support network there.

Now that Eden has an agent, the aim is to play even more gigs, and one day, make her own music.
(End)

• To stick with something (phrasal verb): to continue doing something, not change.
• A DJ (noun): someone who chooses and plays music at an event.
• To get ready (phrase): to prepare.
• A festival (noun): an organised set of special events, such as musical performances.
• Jungle (noun): dance music with a very fast rhythm.
• House (noun): electronic dance music with a fast regular beat.
• Drum and bass (noun): dance music with a fast, strong drum rhythm and loud bass.
• Lyrics (noun): the words of a song.
• Devoted (adjective): extremely loving and loyal.
• A set (noun): a list of songs or music that is performed at a musical event.
• A gig (noun): a performance by a musician or group of musicians.
• Considering (preposition): taking into account, used to give a reason or explanation for something.
• Decks (noun): musical equipment used to record, mix, and play music.
• To play around with something (phrasal verb): to practise using something, trying different methods.
• Software (noun): computer programs.
• Willing (adjective): to be happy to do something.
• To place (verb): to achieve a particular place in a competition.
• No less (idiom): used to show the importance of something.
• One-off (adjective): happening only once, very special.
• Go wrong (idiom): to make a mistake or a bad decision.
• Out of (preposition): because of, used to show the reason why someone does something.
• To convert something (verb): to change something so it can be used for something different.
• A man cave (informal, noun): a part of a house where a man can go to do the things he wants to do.
• A studio (noun): a room with special equipment where music recordings are made.
• To soundproof (verb): to make changes to a room or building to stop sound being heard by people outside.
• Flashing (adjective): producing bright light that appears and disappears quickly.
• To chaperone someone (verb): to be present and take care of a young person at a social event.
• To wander around (phrasal verb): to move around a place without a specific purpose.
• A wellness coach (noun): a person who helps people make good lifestyle and health choices.
• Mentoring (noun): the act of helping people and giving advice to a younger or less experienced person.
• A support network (noun): a group of people who support or help someone.
• An agent (noun): a person who works for and represents someone.
• An aim (noun): an objective or goal.

In this text, there are various examples of past simple regular verbs and ‘ed’ adjectives with corresponding changes in pronunciation. We use the past simple to talk about past events or states that have finished. Regular past simple forms are made by adding -ed to the infinitive of the verb:  start = started    jump = jumped    play = played    want = wanted

There are some spelling rules:

If a verb ends in -e, you add -d: agree = agreed, like = liked, escape = escaped

If a verb ends in a vowel and consonant, the consonant is normally doubled: drop = dropped

If a verb ends in a vowel and -y, you remove the -y and add -ied: cry = cried, carry = carried

If a verb ends in a vowel and -y, add -ed: stay = stayed, enjoy = enjoyed

There are three kinds of pronunciation:

/id/: e.g. wanted, needed, decided, started (if the infinitive verb ends in a /d/ or /t/ sound). Add an extra syllable for these words.

/d/: e.g. played, agreed, stayed, cried (if the final sound of the infinitive verb is ‘voiced’, makes a vibration in your throat). No extra syllable for these words.*

/t/: e.g. jumped, asked, kissed, cried (if the final sound of the infinitive verb in ‘unvoiced’, doesn’t make a vibration in your throat). No extra syllable for these words.*

*Note the difference in sound between /d/ and /t/ final sounds is small; the most important part of past simple pronunciation is to add /id/ for base infinitive verbs ending in /d/ or /t/ sounds.

The same pronunciation pattern is followed for adjectives ending in ­-ed:

/id/: excited, interested, added, etc.

/d/: surprised, tired, involved, etc.

/t/: shocked, fixed, cracked, etc.

Examples in the text:

• Meet Eden’s most devoted fans: devoted /id/ is an example of an adjective that follows the ‘ed’ pronunciation pattern.
• … considering she only started learning 18 months ago: start = started /id/
• Eden was just really interested: interested /id/ = adjective form
• … we realised that she was becoming more and more involved: realise = realised /d/; involved /d/
• She placed eighth in a national DJ competition: place = placed /t/
• … has played some daytime family club events: play = played /d/ *note the verb here is in the past participle form (play – played – played)
• I’m scared it might go wrong at the event: scared /d/ = adjective form
• … which will be soundproofed: soundproof = soundproofed /t/ *note the verb here is in the past participle form (soundproof – soundproofed – soundproofed)
• We’ve worked really hard to find safe spaces: work = worked /t/ *note the verb here is in the past participle form (work – worked – worked)
• … she’s always chaperoned: chaperone = chaperoned /d/ *note the verb here is in the past participle form (chaperone – chaperoned – chaperoned)

https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/grammar/a1-a2-grammar/past-simple-regular-verbs

https://www.englishpodcastscollected.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/BBC-Newsround-Meet-the-10-year-old-DJ-heading-off-to-festivals-this-summer.pdf

https://www.englishpodcastscollected.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/BBC-Newsround-Meet-the-10-year-old-DJ-heading-off-to-festivals-this-summer.docx