Amy Macdonald calls for government support for the live music industry before the benefit concert

People working in the live music sector are the “backbone” of the industry and deserve better financial support,” said Amy Macdonald.

Amy Macdonald believes that financial support would be welcomed.

Amy warned that if they do not receive additional support from the government, the concert halls may have difficulty reopening in 2021 due to a lack of qualified personnel.

Amy Macdonald, best known for her songs This Is The Life and Mr Rock & Roll, is giving a live concert on Sunday to raise funds for the We Make Events campaign, which supports teams working behind the scenes.

She will play an acoustic set supported by her band at the Mildmay Club in Stoke Newington, London, before taking questions from a guest presenter and fans.

Macdonald said friends in the music industry were working in Covid-19 test centres, supermarkets and Argos after being out of work since the station closed in March.

Referring to the suggestion that jobs in live music would not be viable in the future, she said: “Is this really where we are today saying that there will never be music, there will never be theatre and the arts will simply disappear? For me, it’s a bit crazy”.

Macdonald said that it takes “years of hard work and dedication” to thrive in the performing arts sector.

She added: “It’s doing everything you can to thrive because it’s hard. It can be hard to get started. For me it has been horrible to see people I know struggling”.

We Make Events

The “We Make Events” campaign provides support to teams of musicians and other employees in the performing arts sector who are struggling to cope with the loss of their jobs during the pandemic.

WeMakeEvents also champions all those working in the events industry, raising awareness and understanding of the threats and issues affecting them. As part of this, #WeMakeEvents raises funds to provide immediate support to individuals, families and charities in our industry.