London’s music promotion HotVox teamed up with the charity for a new series in Camden’s historical venue, The Camden Assembly.
With the ongoing events in today’s world, it’s becoming increasingly important to maintain support for local charities and ensure their work is being noticed.
One of London’s most prolific music promoters, HotVox, has partnered with world-renowned charity War Child UK, for a brand new series ‘Beer and Busking’ all to raise funds for children living through conflict.
Hotvox and War Child are no strangers, having already worked closely together on their joint platform RISING, a pre-recorded livestream of music from upcoming artists, whilst maintaining their main goal, fundraising.
Speaking to a HotVox representative, they shared their current achievements with the charity and their ongoing plans. “Hot Vox has raised over £80,000 for War Child UK through gigs, showcases & live-streamed performances,” they said.
“Now, RISING is evolving into a new, national fundraising competition, seeking out the best new talent and providing them with opportunities to push their career to the next level, all whilst raising awareness and vital funds for War Child UK.”
The Beer and Busking series kicked off on Sunday, October 15, hosted by Camden Town’s iconic music venue, The Camden Assembly (formally known as BarFly). With the roaring sounds of Camden seeping through the pub doors, the audience soon became silent when the first act Miranda Joy took to the stage.
Miranda’s soulful vocals completely cut through the previous chaos as she opened the show with a brief introduction and jumped straight into her first song. Gathering the attention of an audience can be quite daunting for some, particularly in a pub, but this didn’t seem to faze Miranda as she flowed from song to song naturally, whilst reminding audience members of the purpose of the event.
Audience members were able to engage throughout the entire show, with a QR code at each table to either donate directly to the charity or tip any of their favourite acts on the night. Whilst the vast majority of the audience seemed to have just wandered into the venue from the streets, they seemed more than happy to participate in the final song of Miranda’s, a tribute to Camden’s hero Amy Winehouse, when in Camden.
While two of the original acts on the bill were unable to attend the evening, it didn’t dampen the spirits of either the audience or artists.
London-raised R&B singer Ally Adams was the last to grace the stage, accompanied by her guitarist. Instantly bringing high energy with her debut single Goodbye, Ally had the audience in a trance, with her extremely unique voice and witty lyricism.
Ally seemed to have the strongest connection with the audience that evening, particularly when it came to scanning the QR codes available. With a few punchy one-liners to spark laughter in the old Camden boozer, Ally finished off the set in a similar suit to Miranda, with a heartfelt cover of her favourite Amy Winehouse track.
As the applause faded once Ally left the stage, a HotVox representative took to the microphone for the final time of the evening thanking the acts and the audience for being so attentive throughout.
It seems like Hotvox and War Child UK have found the perfect medium to raise funds for an important cause, whilst supplying a great night of upcoming acts ready to take over the music scene.
Get involved with Hotvox here and you can donate to War Child UK here.
Featured image by Lewis Kelly