Alternative Barnsley will be holding two very special charity concerts in September at Barnsley Rock and Blues Venue (still lovingly called The Polish Club by its regulars). The first of which will take place on Sunday 7th September and the second on Sunday 28th September, with all monies raised being split equally between two local charities, EnRich and Creative Recovery.
Both charities are firmly embedded in the arts and helping people reach their full creative potential.
EnRich was formed in memory of the much-loved Barnsley College music teacher, Richard ‘Rich T’ Tolson. He had a positive impact on many people’s lives and the charity will continue to do the same by awarding small scholarships, grants and funding to those budding performers who need it the most.
Creative Recovery uses the arts to aid recovery from addiction and poor mental health. It helps both individuals and their families. They provide safe spaces in which people can flourish and reach their potential. Creative Recovery’s core mission is to use creativity to bring about social change and boost well-being. I think it’s about time that some attention was given to mental health in Barnsley. The percentage of adults with depression in Barnsley is higher than the national average, with 15.77% in Barnsley and 11.68% in England in 2011/2012. Lots of details figures can be found on the council website. Both Creative Recovery and EnRich are very worthy charities and I hope that through the time each of the acts are generously donating, we will raise a lot of money for them.
Our concert on September 7th will feature ten of the best alternative rock and indie acts in Barnsley. Headliners for the day are McCarthy Vigil, an atmospheric indie band who are a must for fans of Radiohead. The ten strong line-up also features Everyone An Army, Euthemia, Overclockwise, Demographic, Antesaint, Polyopia, The Hearts, Feral Indie and Lauren Kelly. The event is free entry and will run from 1pm until 9pm. Please follow our facebook event page here.
Our second concert on September 28th will feature some of the best acoustic acts in Barnsley and will feature the long awaited live return of contemporary folk duo Garforth & Myers as the headline act. For the duo’s rare live outing, they will be backed by a number of local musicians such as Emma Johnstone, Susie Martin and Richard Kitson. Also playing that day will be the folk and blues singer Leon O’Doherty, Scott Doonican will perform with his friends Folkus, along with Barnsley Folk Club house band String Theory, the singer/songwriter Emily Worton, the contemporary indie folk group Parable, Del Scott Miller of the indie rock group Mynas will duet with Lauren Conway and the contemporary alt-blues singer Lewis Ryan. This event will run from 3:30pm – 9:30pm and will again, be free entry. But please donate generously. Please follow our facebook event page here.
Have a gander below at our awesome posters created by Roseanna Hanson and a glimpse at some of the acts performing over the two concerts.
And for those acts that don’t have a youtube channel, here is a soundcloud playlist…
Alternative Barnsley 