Late singer’s festival legacy
Mental health charity launches online event to bring fans of late frontman together,
AN ONLINE lockdown summer music festival is to be staged in memory of the late Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchison, with proceeds going to mental health charities.
Tiny Changes, the charity set up by Mr Hutchison’s family in the wake of his suicide, is organising the weekend, which will star a host of bands from Scotland and beyond, and features the lead singer of The Charlatans, Tim Burgess.
Artists will perform a short set of around 20 minutes each and viewers will be able to donate as they are watching. The money will be divided between various mental health charities.
An event spokesman said: “Music has the ability to connect people and build community – something that’s at the heart of everything we do. We are a community of tiny change-makers, working together to make young minds feel better.
“We know this is the time many are preparing for a summer spent in fields with friends, watching bands they love.
“With this in mind, we came up with Tiny Gigs. A Tiny Changes fundraiser which will keep us connected through our love of music, allowing us to enjoy emerging, diverse, and well-known talent from the comfort of our own homes.”
Mr Hutchison was 36 when he passed away in May 2018 after taking his own life after years of battling depression. The singer-songwriter was found at Port Edgar, near South Queensferry, on May 10, 2018, after he was reported missing.
In his memory, his family set up the charity last year to fund and find inventive ideas on how to improve mental health services for young people.
Mr Hutchison’s own struggles with anxiety as a child inspired the nickname Frightened Rabbit, before it was adopted by the group.
The coronavirus lockdown has put a strain on mental health services, pushing Tiny Changes to set up a relief fund to help young people in
At a time when so many of us might be feeling isolated from the world let’s all get together in a virtual field
underprivileged areas stay connected and try to provide more online counselling.
The charity, set up by brothers Grant and Neil and his parents Ron and Marion, is rolling out its first funding to help young people with similar mental health issues. Up to mid-may the charity had raised more than £300,000.
Founding trustee Grant Hutchison said: “What started as a wee idea after seeing a bunch of artists perform for folk online has been turned into a reality by a few wonderful folk at Tiny Changes.
“At a time when so many of us might be feeling disconnected and isolated from the world let’s all get together in a virtual field and enjoy some togetherness with a bunch of amazing musicians.
“Instead of feeling like we’re missing out on seeing friends, going to gigs and singing along together let’s make the most of being able to sit and watch a music festival from our own couch in our pants.
“Join in, sing along and then at the end of the night you don’t need to fumble around in the dark looking for your tent. You can go to your own bed. Result.”
The event on June 20 and 21 being run on Facebook and Instagram Live, will also feature Scottish bands and artists such as Man of Moon, Broken Chanter, Cloth and Heir of the Cursed, as well as punk-folk singer-songwriter Frank Turner.
The charity supports efforts to improve mental health in children and young people in Scotland and takes its name from a lyric from the Frightened Rabbit song Head Rolls Off.
It included the line: “While I’m alive, I’ll make tiny changes to Earth.”
The long-term view of the charity is to find “real solutions” tailor-made for young people, and that they should be a central part of the conversation around mental health.
The charity has launched emergency funding to help run essential youth mental health services.
Its Covid-19 relief fund is open to Scottish charities running essential youth mental health services or responding to young people’s mental health crises.
“We know we can’t solve every problem. We can, however, make tiny changes to make young minds feel better with our resources and community. We’ve created a plan for the next few months to help make things a little brighter where we can,” the charity said.