Harrogate music community turns to Zoom and live streaming to beat isolation

The crisis has been hitting local musicians hard with venues and studios in lockdown and potential audiences in self isolation.

But more and members of the Harrogate live music scene are now reaching out to their fans - and each other - by live streaming, sometimes from their own living rooms or bed rooms.

The idea isn't just to keep the music going, it's to lift people's spirits at home and promote mental well-being.

Harrogate singer-songwriter Paul Mirfin started the ball rolling with live show on Facebook , then well-known DJ Trev stepped up to the plate last Sunday when he held his popular metal and punk night Bottom of the Bottle online.

Vinyl Sessions, the monthly fundraiser for Harrogate Hospital, is now preparing to hold its next event on REM with the help of the go-to video conferencing app, Zoom.

A virtual Harrogate music festival is in the pipeline, too, possibly on Harrogate Community Radio.

Paul Mirfin, whose band have sold out the Royal Hall twice as well as topping the UK Christian charts, said it was a difficult time for local musicians.

But, the elimination of many daily activities such as gigs, band practices and studio recording sessions, it made sense to go totally digital.

He said: "This is an extremely difficult time for all of us particularly those who rely on 'gig' income and self-employed earnings.

"All our band's gigs have been cancelled , which is incredibly tough as we love having contact with our fans and playing live together as a band.

"But we have been exploring live streaming options and will be doing more of that over the next few weeks so do follow us on Youtube and Facebook."

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The concept of an online Harrogate music festival is the brainchild of Knaresborough-based DJ Rory Hoy, who has achieved nationwide success on stage and on record with his House and Big Beat productions.

Rory said: "The idea to recruit musicians and bands in the Harrogate district to join in acts in an audio virtual festival, tentatively entitled ‘Who Needs Reality’ Festival.

"We will be asking them local act to send us an audio clip of 15-20 minutes, a photo and some blurb, and we will put it all together with DJ Trev acting as MC.

"Hopefully, we will be broadcasting it on Harrogate Community Radioand putting the whole show on our own websites and social media."

Harrogate multi-genre musician Diesel Keys, who has twice reached the semi-final stages of The UK Songwriting Contest, has decided to offer all the royalties from the release of Underdog Spirit, his recently-completed debut album to charity.

Diesel said: "My debut album has taken about two years to make and it's managed to coincide with an unprecedented global crisis.

"Music may seems trivial at a time like this but it can also be a welcome escape and sometimes even a comfort.

"I will be donating all royalties to The Salvation Army in the hope of helping them tackle the effects of coronavirus on the most vulnerable people in the UK."

It's not just Harrogate where musicians are finding ways round social distancing and self isolation.

Six Poor folk bar in Knaresborough's weekly Open Mic night has already switched to Zoom on Sundays from 6pm to 7pm.

And promoters in the Ripon area forced to cancel or postpone gigs have been supporting live sessions online.

Nick Thompson, the man behind the success of Ripon Live at RAOS Hall which has brought some of Britain's top folk-flavoured acts to the city in recent years, has been linking up with live sessions of some of their 'greatest hits' such as Holy Moly and the Crackers on the Facebook Ripon Live Music page.

Grewelthorpe Live Music is also encouraging this sort of activity.

Contacting Harrogate music scene

To get involved with the virtual Harrogate music festival:

Email

Rory Hoy at [email protected]

To support Diesel Keys:

Visit

https://dieselkeys.bandcamp.com

To pick up on live music sessions:

Visit

Facebook.com/RiponLiveMusic/

Facebook.com/SixPoorFolkOpenMicNight/

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