Song of hope marks one year of shutdown
Performance is musical milestone at Perth Concert Hall
A year ago the lights went out at Perth Concert Hall and Perth Theatre.
The coronavirus crisis was gathering pace and the nation was preparing for lockdown.
It was during those dark days that bosses at Horsecross Arts started the Keep Going Together blog.
Every day since, the Horsecross Arts team has created a post to try and help people stay connected.
To mark a year since the last live performance at either the theatre or concert hall, and the start of the blog, Horsecross Arts commissioned Perthshire musician Ian McLaren to write a song - ‘Keep Going Together’ - which will be released today, Friday, March 19.
Chief executive of Perth Concert Hall and Perth Theatre Nick Williams, said: “We started our daily Keep Going Together blog the day our venues were forced to close due to the COVID-19 crisis.
“Since then, every day without fail, the team has posted moments of culture and community for our audiences and friends to discover while they can’t enjoy live performances in our buildings.
“Three-hundred-and-sixty-five days without live shows in Perth Concert Hall or Perth Theatre is not a milestone that we ever wished to reach, but we felt it important to mark the moment to highlight the fact that we are still here, there is light at the end of the tunnel, and we will be back.
“Ian’s song highlights the remarkable resilience of our audiences and gives a message of hope for the future when we’ll be sharing live performances together again.
“While we work towards that point, we’ll continue to connect with each other through our blog and online as we, and many others, have done throughout the year.”
Ian, who has kept busy during lockdown creating a significant body of songs whilst navigating grief following the loss of his wife Susan a year ago, said: “When I was writing the song, I envisaged an artist standing on stage at Perth Concert Hall and focusing on one person in the audience and then gradually zooming out to see everyone around them sharing the live experience.
“From this scene, and with the message of ‘keep going together’ in mind, I look back on some of the things that people have done to stay connected throughout lockdown, how important personal connections are, whether in person or via the likes of Zoom, and how live performance has the power to bring people together.
“At its heart, it’s an optimistic song about getting through and getting to the end of a difficult situation, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and looking forward to being in the same place sharing live moments with others rather than on screen.”
Since it started in March 2020, Perth Concert Hall and Perth Theatre’s Keep Going Together blog has reached over 500,000 people and covered a huge range of subjects.
It has flagged up online work going on round the country and shared stories from some of the venues’ favourite performers.
It has highlighted kids’ activities, debated history’s greatest composers, showcased actors performing their favourite monologues, shone a spotlight on local musicians and charted significant local and national events and campaigns.
Keep Going Together with Ian, Stuart Nisbet, Pete Honeyman (bass), Matt Rogers (drums) and Alan Sutherland (keys) is available to view now at www. keepgoingtogether.co.uk and on Perth Concert Hall and Perth Theatre’s Facebook and YouTube.
Ian’s song highlights the remarkable resilience of our audience and gives a message of hope