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You might want to make a cuppa and get comfy. I’ve a few things to tell you…
The following gigs are currently still on. However, things are clearly changing all the time. My view is that, since the Scottish and Irish leaders have deemed indoor gatherings of 500 or more to be unsafe, that seems to be a sensible way to judge it.
In the case of my gigs, we’re not looking at anywhere near that number (should I be sad about that? I’m not sure!) So, I’m taking the advice of the venues themselves, and so far nobody is telling me it’s off. Therefore…
I’ll show up if you will!
Obviously, we’ll all just have to take the recommended precautions. Wash hands thoroughly, cough into your elbow, and self-isolate for 7 days if you’re showing symptoms (preferably at home rather than at the venue). If you’re interested in merchandise, I’ll be bringing a contactless payment system, so we can tap without touching. Please don’t be offended!
If anything changes, the venues will let ticket-holders know and I will keep people up to date on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (clicking those links will take you to my pages).
SUPPORTING MUSICIANS & VENUES
One last thing. I am a part-time musician, so my general income does not come from touring. However, the coronavirus outbreak is really taking its toll on my professional musician friends, as well as the small venues we all play in. They rely on these gigs to make ends meet and everyone is struggling.
If you’re still keen to wash your hands and go out and see them and support them, then buying tickets in advance is a great way to show the venue and promoter that you’d like to ride this through. My tour has been negatively affected once (Sheffield) by uncertainty surrounding all of this, and Winchester is still looking a little dicey. These are very uncertain times for people in the arts.
If you’ve decided to sit this period out (understandably), but you still want to support musicians, there are a number of ways that are coming to light.
Jo Breeze has created a page called “Support Creators Through Crisis” which lists artists who create digital bits and bobs that you can buy/subscribe to.
There’s some discussion among folk musicians about putting on a kind of live-streamed digital concert, where the musicians will beam to a single stream (like a kind of Folk Live Aid) and you can pay-per-view. If you’re interested in that, or perhaps have skills that could help with making that happen, the conversations are in nascent form over on Twitter. Click here to see where they’ve got to.
You could also support the #BuyTheMusicToWashYourHandsTo hashtag campaign. It does what it says on the tin. It’s a nice idea.
This tweet from Sean Adams has a few good ideas, and I’ve since had someone pay £10 for a £1 track on Bandcamp, which demonstrates the point that people are taking notice of this stuff and acting with wonderful generosity and kindheartedness. If you’re a fan of live music, it’s a great way to help the musicians get through these uncertain times.
OK. Public service announcement over. I hope to see you out there. Do let me know on social media if you’re still coming. It spurs me on!
GIGS THAT ARE STILL SCHEDULED
Good Honest Folk
Dorking
March 14th
Click for tickets
Green Note
Camden
Also featuring a set with Jon Nice of Grizzly Folk
March 15th
Click for tickets
MAC
Birmingham
March 16th
Click for tickets
The Prince Albert
Stroud
March 18th
Click for details
The Hyde Tavern
Winchester
March 19th
Click for tickets
Downend Folk Club
Bristol
March 20th
Supporting Salt House
Click for tickets
The Tree House Bookshop
Kenilworth
March 21st
Click for tickets
Grayshott Folk Club
Grayshott
March 30th
Supporting Bob Fox
Click for tickets
Readifolk
Reading
April 5th
Click for tickets
Oxford Folk Weekend
Blackwell’s Bookshop, Oxford
April 18th
Click for details
Twickenham Folk Club
April 19th
Click for tickets
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