My performances through Covid-19 lockdown have been exclusively based around Playtime – the music night I co-founded with guitarist Graeme Stephen in 2014. As restrictions were imposed and it became impossible to perform in a venue in front of an audience, Playtime moved to a remote, live-streamed format, with the core quartet (Graeme, me, Tom Bancroft and Mario Caribe) playing together virtually across the cybersphere. This could then be viewed on various platforms, and quickly created a following. As restrictions eased slightly, we moved to Pathhead Village Hall where, whilst rigorously adhering to social distancing and hygiene regulations, we were able to perform in real time together (and in the same room!), albeit without an audience in attendance. All of our performances since March 19 are available on Tom Bancroft’s YouTube channel. Huge credit must go to Tom Bancroft – for his foresight, daring and energy in finding solutions to the problem of musicians being able to perform and reach audiences in these challenging times. Further Playtime live-streamed concerts will follow – just look on my Events page, or Playtime’s Facebook Page, or on the website – and here’s hoping we all get back to playing live in venues with audiences soon!
