For over ten years Kashmir Cafe has been a hugely popular fixture at the Isle of Wight Festival, playing host to hundreds of acts, including Wheatus, Dodgy and John Otway.
As well as providing a platform for many local and independent musicians to perform alongside more established acts, Kashmir Cafe’s main purpose is to raise much-needed funds for Quay Arts through sales over its bar.
This year’s Coronavirus crisis leading to the cancellation of the festival means those funds won’t be forthcoming, so the organisers of the stage have joined forces with the Isle of Wight Festival to bring some great music to our homes and hopefully raise some money for Quay Arts along the way.
Lockdown peformances
Six acts from past Kashmir Cafe lineups have recorded special lockdown versions of their songs, and the performances will be available to view on Thursday night (21st May) from 7pm on the Isle of Wight Festival’s Facebook page, alongside a Donate button so viewers can give what they can to Quay Arts.
The acts appearing are Plastic Mermaids, Jo-jo and The Teeth, Doug Alldred and The Silver Lining, Jack Barnes, Holly Kirby and The Great Outdoors, and Oly from The Ohmz.
Grateful to Festival for helping replace some of lost revenue
Kashmir Café organisers said,
“We’re gutted we can’t be at Seaclose Park this summer putting on great music, selling great beer and supporting Quay Arts, so we’re really grateful to the Isle of Wight Festival for helping us to replace some of that lost revenue by hosting our Lockdown Sessions in this way.
“Arts organisations and artists are really struggling through this crisis, and any way we can help them keep their heads above water is a bonus.
“We’re really aware of how tight the purse strings are for everyone in these times, but it’s really important to support our arts and culture through donating to organisations like Quay Arts if you can, and also by supporting the creative community, in this case musicians, by buying or downloading their work rather than just streaming it – it makes a huge difference to their revenue.”
People can view the special lockdown sessions video by ‘Liking’ the Isle of Wight Festival’s Facebook page, and visiting from 7pm this Thursday onwards.
News shared by Doug on behalf of Kashmir Cafe. Ed
Image: © Chris Jones
