Sam sings live on a drive
A SINGER has been lifting the spirits of people stuck at home during lockdown with his ‘live on your drive’ shows.
Sam Southall, from Burbage, has been a professional vocalist for some 10 years and usually performs at events, pubs and holiday parks.
He was away travelling through south east Asia, Australia and New Zealand with his girlfriend when the lockdown came into force, and he decided to return home.
After a few weeks struggling to find things to do as his industry had come to a halt, he had an idea for how to put his musical skills to good use.
Sam said: “I decided to write a letter to neighbours of my street, announcing that I was going to perform for everyone on my front lawn in Burbage the coming Saturday.
“I put my phone number on the letter and immediately after delivering them, I received lots of texts from excited neighbours.”
One neighbour was particularly happy to hear about Sam’s show as it was their son’s 21st birthday on that weekend.
Sam spoke to his neighbour, Norman, who plays the saxophone, and he was also keen to play a few numbers.
Sam said: “I performed the show and both myself and Norman were overwhelmed by the amount of support we received from the whole street.
“Sitting on their front lawns or on the pavement all spaced apart and socially distanced, the entire road came out to be entertained.
“I received many Facebook messages texts and throughout the next week and lots asking for it again.
“One neighbour said to me “They’ll be talking about this for the next 50 years””
Due to the show’s success and the demand, Sam decided to carry on and do a couple more events on his drive.
He performed on VE Day, working with close neighbours Norman, Geoff and John to deck out their portion of the street with bunting and flags.
Sam learnt a lot of wartime and vintage songs for the show and he said he loved every minute of it.
One message he had afterwards said: “I moved here a year ago to live with my Dad.
“He’s lived here for 24 years and said that yesterday was his best day ever, for that I can’t thank you enough.”
The requests for Sam to do more shows kept coming in so he decided to advertise a ‘Live on your drive’ service to perform on other streets.
He said: “I was once again amazed by the demand for me to entertain on other streets around the area.
“With the weather being so great and everyone sensibly social distancing still, my shows on peoples front lawns have been extremely worthwhile to each little community, bringing people together during this tough time.
“It is very rewarding to see. “I have also been booked a few times to sing a few songs on someone’s doorstep, such as happy birthday and their favourite songs, lifting their spirits up.”
Sam was interviewed by Jimmy Carpenter on BBC Radio Leicester about his shows.
To book a show, call Sam on 07590 916738.