Lisa organises strum-thing special
Singer puts together Chords for Accord fundraiser
Some of Paisley’s finest singers are coming together for a special online fundraising gig.
Rebecca Kowalski and her daughter Lisa have organised Chords for Accord to raise money for the Paisley hospice during lockdown.
Lisa, 20, has been a regular on the Paisley music scene for the last five years, so she and her mum got in touch with some contacts to see if they would be interested in taking part.
Chords for Accord will be live tomorrow from 4pm, with each of the ten artists performing a half-hour set.
All they ask is that, if you’ve enjoyed the music, you’ll consider making a donation to Accord Hospice to support it through this tough time.
Rebecca said: “Pretty much everyone we contacted said they’d be happy to take part.
“A lot of people are going out of their mind with boredom and, for these musicians, their job and income has stopped immediately.
“It’s a really great cause and all of them were happy to help.
“We hope it will be a great show.
“We chose a mixture of performers, so there should be something for everyone. Everyone will be doing a crowd-pleasing set.”
On the bill are Lisa, Liv Dawn, Liam Doyle, Charlene Gordon, Jordan Stewart, Graeme Kerr, Hollie Robinson, Alan McKim, Laura Murray and Johnny Barr.
Each artist will perform from their home and Accord will stream the gigs via its Facebook events page.
All the performances will stay on the page to be watched again later.
Rebecca added: “Hopefully, everyone who listens in will find something they like.
“We want to provide a good night of entertainment.
“We know a lot of people are hard up at the moment with everything that’s gone on, but there are others who are still working from home and aren’t out spending as much as normal.
“If you would have normally gone out into Paisley on a Saturday night and spent some money on a couple of drinks, all we ask is you consider giving that money to Accord instead.”
Rebecca organised the event in memory of her friend who was cared for at Accord before she passed away last Christmas.
Her family’s plans to fundraise for the hospice have been scuppered as a result of the lockdown, so Rebecca and Lisa came up with the online gig.
“We hoped this might help the family to know we’re trying to raise money for Accord as well,” she said.
“All of Accord’s fundraising events have dried up because of the lockdown, so we wanted to do something to help.
“Things like this help with people’s mental health as well, which is so important at the moment.”
David McFadden, fundraising and communications manager at Accord, said they hope the gig becomes a regular event during the lockdown.
He added: “Lisa and Rebecca have been supporters of the hospice and Lisa’s talents as a singer have featured at some special events for us in the past.
“They asked if they could put together some brilliant local artists to have a stayat-home gig for people to enjoy, so what transpired was Chords for Accord.
“The hospice is needing to come up with new ways of raising funds due to the lockdown, with all events and retail shops being closed or cancelled for the foreseeable future.
“This is also a way to entertain everyone at home and bring some fun online.
“We hope that all those tuning into the Facebook Live Event tomorrow supporting the local artists listen in, get entertained and support the hospice through donating on the night.”
To tune in, go to Accord’s Facebook page and click on Events