Features
Music Feeds: Co-op, Everybody Belongs Here & 40-Plus Artists Partner For Virtual Charity Festival
– Music Feeds.
The online charity festival takes place Jan. 28-29 on MusicFeeds.org.
Sam Smith, The Blossoms, Fontaines D.C., Newton Faulkner, Flogging Molly lead the lineup of a virtual charity festival called Music Feeds, raising money to fight food poverty, and help struggling music acts and entertainment industry workers, Jan. 28-29.
All net ticketing proceeds will be split among three UK charities FareShare (70%), Stagehand (20%) and Help Musicians (10%). Tickets are sold through DICE and cost £15, giving access to both nights.
In addition, Co-op, who’s organizing the online festival with ethical music events promoter Everybody Belongs Here, pledged to donate £1 million ($1.36 million) to be split among the charities in the same way.
The money will enable FareShare, which is dedicated to fighting food poverty, provide some 2.5 million meals, while Help Musicians and Stagehand will use the money to help out musicians and live production workers, who’ve suffered immensely during the COVID crisis.
Aside from the aforementioned A-listers a number of emerging artists join the bill of the Music Feeds festival, including Mega, Emily Barker, Pollstar Hotstars The Slow Readers Club and more. See full lineup below.
Peter Powell – Pool/Getty Images – Marcus Rashford of Manchester United during the Carabao Cup Semi Final match against Manchester City.
The striker has taken up the cause of fighting food poverty.
England’s soccer star Marcus Rashford, who’s been a FareShare ambassador since March 2020, will deliver content as well. The Manchester United striker launched his own initiative, the Food Poverty Taskforce, last year with Co-op being one of the first signatories to the campaign.
Jo Whitfield, CEO, Co-op Food, commented: “Hunger knows no borders, and neither should our response. All year round, Co-op works to tackle food hunger and we’re thrilled to be uniting with outstanding musicians from across the world to turn up the volume on the issue.
“The pandemic has brought a sharper focus on issues such as food poverty and many in the music industry have seen their livelihoods disappear overnight because of lockdown restrictions. It’s right that we should lend our support and co-operate with musicians to raise awareness and raise funds for such vital causes.”
Saul Davies, music industry veteran and James band member, is the creative powerhouse behind the Music Feeds charity festival. He said: “At Music Feeds you’ll get never-seen performances from leading artists, uncover new bands, and get up-close and personal with interviews. The festival will be broadcast to your Smart TV and devices over two nights, and festival goers can even join the sofa mosh-pit via the simultaneous Twitter listening party.
“Additional artists who have been unable to perform have donated unique items for the companions Music Feed charity auction.”
Davies continued: “With a single £15 ticket giving access to both nights, the festival is priced to allow as many people as possible to support the causes. There is also the option for festival goers to donate more.
“We are grateful to our ticketing partner DICE, who have significantly reduced their charges to only recover their costs. So, if you want to take positive action to end hunger, buy a ticket for yourself, buy one for a friend or donate one to charity, but please help by buying a ticket at MusicFeeds.org.”
– Music Feeds.
The lineup.
Co-op has been making moves in live for a long time. As far back as 100 years ago, Co-op first built dance halls for people. The Beatles, for instance, headlined at the Co-operative Ballroom in Nuneaton, England in 1962, the day they released “Love Me Do.”
The retailer has had pop-up shops at festivals such as Glastonbury and Live Nation’s Download, Reading and Leeds festivals, as well as Creamfields.
Most recently, Co-op was announced as naming rights partner for Oak View Group’s (OVG) new 23,500-cap arena in Manchester, scheduled to open in 2023, which will be called Co-op Live. OVG is Pollstar’s parent company.
Jo Whitfield concluded: “Co-op is a growing part of the music scene and music lovers can enjoy great acts at Music Feeds in the knowledge they are acting towards creating lasting change on big issues, including fairer access to food.”