Frank Turner will play 'Poetry Of The Deed' in full for virtual gig fundraiser
Frank Turner has announced details of his next virtual fundraiser gig as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic continues.
As part of Turner’s ongoing #IndependentVenueLove gig series to raise money for grassroots venues affected by the coronavirus crisis, the fourth instalment will see him playing his third album, ‘Poetry Of The Deed’, in full to raise money for The Tunbridge Wells Forum.
The event will take place this week on April 16 at 8:30pm BST via Facebook Live. Fans can also donate to the campaign via this GoFundMe page.
Earlier this month (April 3), Turner urged other artists to “give something back” to UK grassroots venues, after he successfully saved Southampton’s Joiners Arms from closing by fundraising via another livestreamed gig.
Turner performed a show from his home via Facebook Watch Party and Instagram Live, asking fans and viewers to donate. In the process, he raised well over the £10,000 required to stop the Joiners from closing as a result of the lockdown caused by the coronavirus crisis. He also raised another £10,000 to help Nambucca in London last week.
Now, he has echoed calls from the Music Venue Trust to ask for other artists to step up and help as well.
Turner told NME: “I’m very wary of telling people what to do in general, but one of the things I want to say to other artists is that this is fun. There are benefits to me in that it keeps people talking and if you can get 8,000-10,000 people tuning into you playing in your front room, then why not? You’re not losing out by doing something like this.
“There’s endless time at the moment and it’s so easy to do. I’m somewhat of a technophobe but I literally put my laptop on a pile of books, press one button to make this work and that’s it. None of us would have a career without these venues existing. None of us would have the music we love, so pay something back.”
Earlier this month, the Music Venue Trust told NME that they were in need of £1million in donations to save grassroots music spaces and prevent “a disaster that will last 10 years” and called upon successful artists and the music industry at large to help.
Donations to the Grassroots Music Venue Crisis Fund can be arranged by contacting Beverley Whitrick at [email protected], by calling 07809 155388, or by visiting their GoFundMe page here.
