Sunderland Music City's 'Live Aid' to fight child poverty at The Fire Station

On Sunday, December 8 the campaign’s flagship event, Music Against Child Poverty Live, will see Sunderland musicians onstage at The Fire Station, raising money for the cause.

Modelled on Live Aid, the show will see numerous local favourites perform as Live Aid icons.

Acts already confirmed include Field Music, The Futureheads, Paul Smith of Maximo Park, Liz Corney of The Cornshed Sisters, Frankie & The Heartstrings, Slug, Stockton Road Hit Squad, Nadedja, Chat, Young Musicians Project and Ruth-Ann Boyle of trip-hop group Olive, whose single You're Not Alone was number one in 1997.

Former BBC presenter Jeff Brown will also appearance.

A report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation says over a third of children in Sunderland live in poverty, with some council wards at twice this level. This is up from 27% in 2015. The national average is 29%.

To help give those children a memorable Christmas, Sunderland Music City has a series of activities to raise money for a local charity.

Music Against Child Poverty aims to combat increasing child poverty through the power of music, with all proceeds going to Sunderland charity Love, Amelia; a children’s charity offering direct support to families experiencing poverty.

Michelle Daurat, chief executive of the Sunderland MAC Trust which delivers Sunderland Music City, said: “Music is such an important and enriching part of life, but the opportunity to enjoy the arts is often limited for children facing hardship.

“Too many children in our area don’t get to experience the joy that music can bring because they’re deprived of even the necessities that most of us take for granted.

“Our goal is to use the power of music to change that.

“It’s a complex problem requiring a multitude of solutions, but we want to do whatever we can to help alleviate that deprivation and give local children access to the amenities they deserve.

“And you never know; by making sure that children have access to instruments and musical education, we might just be giving a leg-up to The Futureheads of tomorrow.”

Donations to Music Against Child Poverty campaign can be made at wonderful.org. Every penny goes to Love, Amelia.

Tickets for Music Against Child Poverty Live are available at thefirestation.org.uk.