The Light Hustle music festival set up to raise money for struggling artists smashed its £5,000 fundraising target during an epic eight hour live streaming marathon featuring contributions from more than 20 musicians including Jake Bugg and Sheku Kanneh-Mason.
The festival was originally set to take place as a live event on Saturday 4 April as a collaboration between the Youth Music funded project Circle of Light and Hockley Hustle but was turned into an online fundraiser following the lockdown.
Within just a few days, a huge number of the established musicians from Nottingham’s vibrant music scene signed up to support the Light Hustle with performances recorded in back gardens, bedrooms, stairs and living rooms flooding in.
Thousands of people tuned in from across the UK and further afield with donations coming from viewers in Ireland, Spain, Brazil, Japan, Italy and Portugal who enjoyed sets from the likes of Georgie, Natalie Duncan, Nina Smith, Rob Green performing his new single and Alfie Sharp, newly signed to Island Records.The music was interspersed with poetry from Left Lion editor-at-large Bridie Squires, comedy sets from Major Labia and even a bedtime story from national DJ MistaJam.
The Go Fund Me currently stands at £5,790 and is still open for donations as the coming weeks are likely to see yet more freelance artists experiencing real financial hardship. With government support for the self-employed not due to be available until June, the hardship fund aims to bridge the gap for freelance creatives facing a complete and immediate loss of income.
Hockley Hustle director – and the inestimable host Mrs Green – Ben Welch said: “We’re over the moon to have smashed through our target and stage such an exciting event showcasing Nottingham’s emerging and established talent with our friends Circle Of Light. We’re incredibly proud – but not surprised – to see the city get behind its fantastic creative community. It was a special bonus to have people watching and supporting from all over the world.”
Co-host Tricia Gardiner, Circle of Light, said: “It was an incredible achievement and I feel honoured to have been part of it. The Youth Music funding enabled us to put on this wonderful online festival that had an unbelievable reach. Not only did it provide a platform for Nottingham’s emerging and established artists but it also connected people from around the world demonstrating the need to feel connected during this time of uncertainty.
“I have been inundated with people sending messages of thanks and expressing how important the event had been and what a difference it made to their day. Please continue to donate as the crisis is by no means over and thank you to the people who have already donated as it will make a real difference.”
Now the organisers are urging creative freelancers across Nottinghamshire in urgent need to apply for one of the £100 emergency payouts from the hardship fund by emailing hello@hockleyhustle.co.uk
After the resounding success of Saturday’s event pulled together in just two weeks, there are also plans underway to explore more virtual events which can bring together the creative community and provide a vital way for people to connect in a time of isolation and raise funds at the same time.
For those who missed Saturday’s epic live stream or just want to watch some of their favourite bits again, footage will be released on www.facebook.com/hockleyhustle and https://www.facebook.com/circle.of.light.nottingham throughout the week with the full live stream on www.hockleyhustle.co.uk
Donate here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/nottingham-artist-fund
