Live music streaming project raises more than £39,000 for food banks

Over the last 10 weeks, the Live For Love project has seen more than 350 artists and DJs live steam their music to fans who have made donations to support The Trussell Trust – a charity that supports a network of 1,200 food bank centres across the UK.

So far £39,322 has been raised towards a target of £50,000.

Shrewsbury-born William Wallace has been living in his hometown during lockdown, and has been co-ordinating Live For Love along with project founder Hannah Ford.

"Hannah and I used to work together on events and she called me to help out," he said. "This was just as I was placed on furlough so the timing was really good.

"I've got quite a lot of links in music – my brother is a DJ, and I've also helped run events at music festivals across the UK.

"I really wanted to be able to give back during this difficult time and say I'd done something positive during Covid-19. Hannah decided on the cause of the food banks, but it's also a cause close to my heart as my mum volunteers at food banks down in Croydon."

Hannah said: "As our industry has been completely put on hold it’s important to still bring people together and we hope that the campaign, as well as raising crucial funds, has done this.

Surreal

"We are all missing connection and it’s easy to become isolated from the world during this surreal time. Live For Love aims to bring people out of this space and allows them to reconnect through music, at the same time as supporting the most vulnerable in our society."

Artists that have supported the cause with streaming events include Artwork, Gideön, Eclair Fifi, Lady Waks, Crazy P, PBR Streetgang and Medlar.

Artwork streamed an 11-hour DJ set which gained 69,000 views and raised more than £5,000. A green screen allowed viewers to dial-in via Skype and have their living rooms projected behind him. Legendary artist DJ Harvey donated £1,000 during Artwork’s set.

Gideön hosted a six-hour vinyl-only stream filled with a selection of salsa, northern soul, roots, gospel and house music. London-based singer/songwriter James Riley, who was due to play at Glastonbury this year, performs from his roof every Friday at 6pm.

Although primarily working on music streams, the team behind Live For Love also organised Stand For The Word, a full day of performances from spoken word artists that featured award-winning poets such as Rob Auton and Luke Wright.

They also put together Move For Love, a full fundraising day of yoga and fitness.

The Trussell Trust supports more than 1,200 food bank centres to provide a minimum of three days’ nutritionally balanced emergency food to people who have been referred in crisis, as well as support to help people resolve the crises they face.

Donations in support of the Live For Love campaign can be made at https://www.gofundme.com/f/liveforloveuk