Emily, 10, gets virtual party going
Her dream of taking to the decks at the club may not have come true just yet - she is still at primary school, after all.
But young DJ Emily Allen has been able to get the lockdown party started by playing dance sets streamed online from her home in Allington, near Maidstone.
Proud dad Jon Allen, who runs the regular SLAM night at the Social Chill Bar in the county town, has been arranging virtual parties for music fans missing their dancefloor fix because of the closure of pubs and clubs. The 10-year-old Allington Primary School pupil - who says she loves to make people dance - has been given the chance to open up the weekly online sessions.
She said: “My dad does DJing and I did it on his laptop a few times, and then I asked him if I could DJ at his nightclub called SLAM, but then because we’re in lockdown we did an online thing and he asked if I wanted to do it, and I said yes.
“Me and my dad looked at songs that I wanted to do, and out of the songs we put some together that would mix well, and then we tried them out and saw if they worked or didn’t. “I love singing and I have been singing ever since I was two, it’s my comfort zone. I have been singing in front of like 200 people. But I also like DJing, and maybe I could do both.” Mr Allen, a 45-year-old dadof-three, added: ““Emily, at the tender age of 10, kicked the nights off with perfectly mixed 45-minute sets.
“We are trying to bring people together during the lockdown, it’s making it much more accessible.”
A swing band due to perform at the next Leeds Castle Concert in Maidstone has released an “Orchestra in Lockdown” video in tribute to the NHS.
The performance by Down for the Count Swing Orchestra had more than 52,000 views in just 48 hours, helping to spread a positive message while raising funds for NHS Charities Together. The organisers of the annual Leeds Castle Concert recently announced this year’s event has been postponed due to coronavirus.
It will now take place on Saturday July 10, 2021.
Down for the Count’s Musical director, Mike Paul-Smith, said: “We’re all in awe of what our key workers are doing at the moment, particularly our NHS staff, and we wanted to do something to show our appreciation.”