The first wave of acts has been unveiled for the annual Beat The Streets charity music festival. Over 30+ local and national music artists have been confirmed to play at the Nottingham city centre event on Sunday 26th January 2020.
Hosted across five stages at venues that include; Rock City, Rescue Rooms, The Bodega and Rough Trade, all proceeds raised from ticket sales, merchandise and bar sales in DHP venues will once again be donated to Framework; the Nottinghamshire charity dedicated to bettering the lives of homeless people.
After raising a grand total of £167,000 over the previous two events, the third edition of the festival will bring some of the most in-demand acts together on one bill, all of whom will all play a significant part in helping the festival to achieve its main aim: helping to eradicate homelessness in the city of Nottingham.
Last year’s proceeds enabled Framework to open the doors of their Sneinton homeless shelter all year round, which has provided ten direct access accommodation places for people sleeping rough in Nottingham. Beat The Streets is aiming to continue with this unprecedented momentum at its forthcoming instalment in January, helping the charity to grow its vital frontline services even further.
Fresh from scoring a Top 5 entry in the Official Vinyl Singles Chart with the anthemic ‘75 Trips’ and selling out a show at The Bodega, rock ‘n’ roll four-piece Reflekter will arrive at the festival riding a wave of acclaim. Since forming back in May 2018, their emotive guitar-led sound has helped them to swiftly earn a dedicated grassroots following, meaning that demand is sure to be high to catch them live on their home turf.
Funded by Youth Music and the National Lottery Community fund, the Circle of Light project brought together over 20 music industry professionals, including the likes of Scor-zay-zee, Rob Green and Stacey McMullen, to help sixty 16-25-year olds achieve the goal of creating an album over a three-week period in the summer, whilst also helping to create a safe space to encourage free and open conversation about mental health. The group released their album at Metronome on World Mental Health Day in October, creating a piece of Nottingham music history in the process. The full line-up for their Beat The Streets performance is set to be unveiled shortly.
After winning Nusic’s ‘Future Sound of Nottingham’ competition earlier in the year, and therefore earning himself a spot opening the main stage at Splendour Festival, 2019 has been a breakout year for Remy. Currently working with Nina Smith’s ‘First Light’ label, the singer-songwriter has become a live favourite on the local music scene with his uplifting brand of John Mayer-esque guitar-pop.
Sheffield rockers Sheafs return to Nottingham fresh off the back of a UK headline tour, which included a recent riotous show at Rescue Rooms in October. Also joining the bill is Nottingham soul sensation Mollie Ralph, whose contemporary twist on the genre has gained her plaudits from the likes of Dean Jackson on BBC Introducing, LeftLion and Nusic, and has also led to a sold out debut EP launch show at Rough Trade in February.
The full list of acts confirmed for the first announcement are: Beat Combo // Black Cats and Magpies // Black Shiver // BLLE // Brad Dear // Callum Kerrigan // Celestines // Circle of Light – Live // Cucamaras // Dacodac // Eyre Llew // Fading Blonde // Gallery 47 // Jaymal Davis // Jerub // Jinda Biant // Louis Croft // Megatrain // Mollie Ralph // Nactus Kunan // Reflekter // Remy // Ryan Brooks // San Junipero // Sancho Panza // Sheafs // Star Botherers // Sunflower Thieves // Tash Bird // Tori Sheard // Vega Bay // Velvet Blush // Witch of The East // Witches Mark.
Due to popular demand, the charity tombola will be making a return to the event in 2020, housed within the Rock City merchandise desk. Expect a vast array of exciting prizes, with the full prize breakdown to be revealed in due course. Branded festival badges are also back, with the full donation amount going to Framework. The full list of stockists can be found on the Beat The Streets Facebook page.
Beat The Streets is being delivered by DHP Family in collaboration with local organisations and music groups including I’m Not from London; Farmyard Records; Hockley Hustle, and Rough Trade. Tickets priced £7 are on sale now from www.alttickets.com/beat-the-streets-tickets and will allow access for 14+ to all participating venues. Further line-up announcements are due to follow shortly, please keep an eye on the social channels or the festival website for updates.
Participating venues: Rock City, Rescue Rooms, The Bodega, Rough Trade.
Beat the Streets Fundraising Keeps Homeless Shelter
Open All Year Round A shelter set up for rough sleepers in winter is now set to operate all year round thanks to money raised by this year’s Beat the Streets.
Framework’s Sneinton Hermitage provides ten direct access accommodation places for people sleeping rough in Nottingham and was initially funded as a winter measure.
However, thanks to the money raised by Beat The Streets, the music festival staged by DHP Family and partners, the service is now operating throughout the year taking vulnerable rough sleepers off the streets each and every night.
Framework Chief Executive Andrew Redfern said: “Sneinton Hermitage is a vital part of ongoing efforts to tackle rough sleeping in Nottingham. It is saving lives and changing lives every day of the week. However, without DHP’s Beat The Streets fundraiser it would not be open today.
“The amazing £67,000 raised by this event not only allowed us to keep this accommodation in the short-term, it also helped us to secure further long-term funding from central government, which means we are able to keep it open until at least March next year. Without the astounding generosity of George and the rest of Beat The Streets, that would simply not have been possible. On behalf of everyone at Framework I would like to extend my sincere thanks to everybody who made this remarkable event possible.”
George Akins, MD, DHP Family, said: “This is a fantastic outcome for everyone involved. It’s great to see the music community of Nottingham come together each year to stage Beat the Streets and raise money to help tackle such a serious issue. This all year round shelter will provide much-needed support for people when they most need it.”
Beat the Streets has announced next year’s festival will take place on Sunday 26 January 2020, with tickets priced at £7 going on sale today (Wednesday 22 May).
Taking place across venues in Nottingham in January 2019, this year’s festival attracted thousands of people to watch sets from 50 plus acts across 8 stages, including Nottingham musician Saint Raymond, popular metal band Evil Scarecrow, as well as an appearance from former Forest and England footballer Stuart Pearce.
Donations are accepted all year round www.justgiving.com/fundraising/beatthestreetsuk
Tickets are on sale from alt.tickets (www.alttickets.com) and Gigantic (www.gigantic.com) at a recommended price of £10 (minimum donation £5) with the option to donate more. One ticket will allow access for 14+ to all participating venues.
Additional donations can be made at JustGiving www.justgiving.com/fundraising/beatthestreetsuk
Interested in getting involved? Contact the team at info@beatthestreetsuk.com