RTÉ have announced they will be hosting a virtual concert with 19 Irish Acts on Saturday 25th of July. Songs From an Empty Room will be recorded and live-streamed from some of Ireland’s most popular venues. The concert will be over two hours long, starting at 8:30pm, and will be broadcasted on RTÉ 2FM, RTÉ 2 and the RTÉ Player.
The concert is to support the live music initiatives Minding Creative Minds and the Association of Irish Stage Technicians Hardship Fund as the Irish music industry continues to face an uncertain future during this pandemic.
The event is being produced by RTÉ and EPIC (The Event Production Industry Covid-19 Working Group) and hosted by radio stars Eoghan McDermott and Jenny Grenne. In an Instagram post, Eoghan McDermott spoke about the purpose of the event saying; “Music From An Empty room celebrates and supports the people behind the scenes of the music that improves all of our lives. Like so many people and maybe more than many of us, their industry has been absolutely battered, which means their ability to make a living is majorly hindered.
“Every special moment of magic from a live gig was made possible by this community of sound and light crew, stage crew, front of house staff and all the behind the scenes heroes. This gig sees some of Ireland’s best artists playing for free to raise money for this community.”
Acts include; Aimée, Denise Chaila, Eve Belle, Fia Moon, Gavin James, Jafaris, James Vincent McMorrow, Lisa McHugh, Lyra, Mother DJs, Noel Hogan (The Cranberries) with Danny O’Reilly (The Coronas), Picture This, Sorcha Richardson, Soulé, The Academic, The Blizzards, The Coronas and The Stunning.
These acts will be preforming from some of Ireland’s most iconic venues such as; The Olympia Theatre in Dublin, Cyprus Avenue in Cork, Galway’s Roisin Dubh, INEC in Killarney and Dolan’s in Limerick.
Ireland’s €3.5 billion a year live music industry has come to a complete halt during the COVID-19 pandemic, with no clear roadmap of when they can start back up. This has totally left backstage crews with no income. The event will feature footage from behind-the-scenes of the events industry to show how these hard working people, who are often forgotten, have been severely impacted by this pandemic.
Viewers will be able to donate by text and a GoFundMe page during the event, and will be able to purchase branded merchandise. All of these proceeds will go to Minding Creative Minds and the Association of Irish Stage Technicians Hardship Fund.
Viewers in the UK will be able to watch from the RTÉ Player.
