Scott’s £4k is music to their ears
Living room concert for hospice
Bannockburn musician Scott McGill didn’t let lockdown get in the way of his efforts to entertain the crowds - and raise thousands for charity in the process.
The 28-year-old is a regular performer at venues up and down the country, including at the popular Molly Malone’s pub in Stirling where he is a well-kent face.
But after venues were forced to closed their doors due to the coronavrius restrictions, electrician Scott vowed to keep the party spark going by hosting a concert from his own living room in aid of Strathcarron Hospice.
The two-hour show was broadcasted live on Scott’s Facebook page last month and raised an astonishing £4,400 for the hospice, which enjoys a particular place in the hearts of Scott’s family.
He told the Observer: “It all came about because I saw a post about Strathcarron not having enough money to function and they were hoping to get £200,000 a month just to keep going.
“My auntie Kathleen had been in the hospice for end-of-life care when I was 12 and it all just hit home for me that I needed to do something to help, so I spoke to my cousins James, Katie and Lisa and we agreed that it was a good idea to raise some money.
“I did a live feed on Facebook for about two hours on a Saturday night just performing with my guitar and singing and we raised thousands in that two hours alone. We’ve ended up raising £4,400 which was a really overwhelming feeling - after I finished playing, I actually just crumbled from the emotion of it.”
Scott explained that while some of the venues themselves couldn’t help spread the word, he still managed to receive plenty of backing from pub-goers and music fans from all over Scotland.
He added: “Molly Malone’s and other places couldn’t share it because they had been furloughed, but individual managers and friends were doing it for me.
“The charity affects so many people and the minute I put the appeal up, I got messages from everywhere saying how their relative had been at Strathcarron and they had looked after them so well.
“I sent through the first donation of about £4,000 to them and they wrote back to me saying that could care for nine patients for a single day, which brought it all home to me.”