Raid blow for music project
Thieves stole hundreds of pounds of equipment used by talented young Sunderland songwriters in a raid on a city arts venue.
The Pop Recs building in High Street West has been the base for the Young Musicians Project since February.
Since lockdown, the project has continued to support young musicians online, offering group sessions and one-to-one tuition.
But earlier this month the Pop Recs building was broken into and around £1,000 worth of equipment taken.
Supported by Sunderland social enterprise We Make Culture, the project has been running for five years. The core group is free to access and is for 12-21-year olds who want to have a go at music, get support from professional musicians Marty Longstaff, Natasha Haws and Beccy Young and have an opportunity to gig, record and produce their work.
It meets at Pop Recs every weekend, attracts more than 30 young people every week and has kickstarted the careers of a number of promising young bands and performers, such as Roxy Girls, Plastic Glass, Lottie Willis and Faye Fantarrow.
Now the group has launched a GoFundMe page to replace the stolen gear and is planning an on-line concert.
We Make Culture’s Laura Brewis said: “Early last week, the new Pop Recs building on High Street West got broken into, after being empty for a number of weeks.
“Despite a lot of the equipment being already removed from the building and distributed to the young people while in lockdown, approximately £1,000 worth of musical equipment, including microphones, pedals, recording equipment has been taken.
“It's a huge blow to the project, which relies on funding and donations to run.”
A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: “Shortly before 5pm on May 7, we received a report of a burglary at Pop Recs, on High Street West in Sunderland.
“It was reported that those responsible had caused damage to the rear of the property to gain entry and once inside had taken a number of items including musical instruments and equipment and alcohol.
“An investigation has been launched and anyone with any information is asked to contact us using reference number 906 07/05/20.”