One year lockdown of free shows and charity work
Monday 29 March, 2021Lockdown live stream: 370 days of daily free concerts:
The Jive Aces, UK’s No.1 Jive and Swing band and Britain's Got Talent semi-finalists, have delivered a whole year of consecutive live-streamed concerts, performing every single day since just before lockdown began. And still going! They have featured many special star guests, including Strictly's Len Goodman, Officer Crabtree from Allo Allo and Kevin McNally from Pirates of the Caribbean – all making ‘virtual’ appearances on the shows. Over 370 hours of music, banter and fun, have included requests, competitions, comedy and a popular ‘boogie-woogie challenge’.
Starting on the 17th March 2020, the band live-streamed concerts on Facebook and YouTube from their rehearsal studio in East Grinstead, with people from all over the world tuning in and the viewers soon routinely topping 15,000 daily. During lockdown, the band were relocated in one household, and continued performing from the ‘Red Brick Studio.’
Ian Clarkson lead singer of the Jive Aces said: "When all our shows, including a US tour, had to be cancelled, many of our fans asked us to do a live stream – so we tried it out. Word spread, we continued, and the live audience grew daily, with hundreds of song requests, ideas and positive comments sent in. We realised that in these unprecedented times, this was how music fans could still follow their favourite bands, and we encouraged other musicians and performers to do the same. We are the artists – it’s our job to keep everyone else up! Hence the show’s motto, "The Show Must Go On!". He added “we can't wait to perform live again and see our fans. Meantime, the live stream is great to keep in touch with our fans and new ones and entertain you all! It has created a whole jive community and brought people together"
Fans stream daily from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Canada, America, New Zealand and more. Live audience participation became a key part of the shows. One couple created their own T-shirts with the logo "Jive Stream, The #Show Must Go On" and sent them in to use as competition prizes. Another fan created a detailed Lego version of the “Red Brick studio” including the band and their instruments!
The band also raised funds for charity for the Not Forgotten and Rotary Club but also went out of their way by helping gather funds for a wheelchair seat raiser for one of their fans in Eastbourne. Steve Frost, husband of Chermaine said: "A massive thank you to all of you in the Jive Aces for helping us reach the target for Chermaine's wheelchair seat riser. Without the Jive Aces and JiveStream we would never have done this. Also the JiveStream has given the biggest majority of us something to look forward to everyday, and it's kept a lot of us sane through these difficult times."
The band perform uplifting jive, swing and rock ’n' roll tunes and the feedback has kept the show going: "Your show made me smile despite all this heartache…thank you to you all!". "Brilliant. Thank you so much. It came just at the right time today. Was feeling very down. Made a huge difference. Love you all". "Merci beaucoup guys! You're bringing sunshine to the quarantine!"
They have managed to keep the show going no matter what; despite technical difficulties, the odd network problem, moving location and all while continuing to do voluntary work for the local community.
The show goes live every day at 8.30pm. Rock ’n’ Romance, Vivien Of Holloway vintage clothing reproductions and Big Finish (official Dr Who audio books producers) are among those that have donated prizes to win on the show.
The Jive Aces love to make feel-good music. They received the prestigious Boisdale Music Award for “Best Band” presented by Jools Holland in London. The six-piece band have a collection of awards for their contribution to music and constant charity work, including one from the Variety Club of Great Britain for their efforts in drug prevention. Their music is also used on TV including the latest Netflix series “Sex Education”. They have also worked with many of the top names in the business, including Jamie Cullum, Van Morrison, Status Quo and John Travolta to name a few.
To watch the live stream simply go to Jive Aces Facebook page, or YouTube channel at 8.30pm UK time – it's on every day!
Contact info:
Grazia Clarkson - Jive Aces publicist
publicrelations@jiveaces.com
+44.07810106888
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