As some of you may be aware (you will certainly know if you follow me on Twitter) I recently organised a gig with my friend Kirsty. Kirsty and I both work for Scottish Autism, so we decided to help raise money for their Music Therapy programs by staging a live music night.
Music can help people with autism in many ways; whether it's through listening or playing music it can help improve communication skills, provide a relaxing pursuit and can help with some of the sensory issues people with autism face. Having the chance to help more people take part is such activities was an honour for Kirsty and I. (If you'd like more information on how music therapy can help those with autism, Nordoff-Robbins also run similar programs and you can find out about the benefits here.)
Kirsty and I before the gig!
One of the posters I made! (You can tell I used to be a teacher :P)
Our first performer of the night, Chris Johnston. He's absolutely brilliant, so once he has some tracks laid down I will be sharing them with the world! :)
Chris on stage!
Next up we had Papa Hotel, a very talented bunch of lads from Perth who brought some rock 'n' roll to the proceedings. Definitely check them out if you like your music loud and full of attitude!
Last up we had Emerald Sunday, another fantastic band from Dundee who blew the roof off! Emerald Sunday have an album coming out on May 3rd - Forbidden Sun - which everyone should go and buy. Particularly if you're a fan of AC/DC, these guys absolutely love AC/DC!
As you can see, we managed to gather a pretty good crowd and everyone there said they had a fantastic night. We also had a cheeky wee raffle, as you can see below. Kirsty and Carolyne - Scottish Autism's fantastic fundraising manager, drew the tickets and I handed out the prizes (Everyone had their eyes on the booze for some reason...)
(P.S. All the photos were taken by my brilliant friend Scott Forrest - he did such a fantastic job of capturing a great night, so thank you Scott! And if you're in Scotland and want a photographer/videographer for your event, his business page is here.)
After all the bands had rocked out and all the raffle prizes were handed out, we managed to raise over £500 for Scottish Autism!! We were blown away that we managed to raise so much, so huge thank yous to everyone who came, who donated prizes and who made the night so fantastic. Kirsty and I still can't believe we pulled it off and everyone had fun. And you never know, we might do another... in a few years after we've recovered from this one!
Also if you fancy doing your bit, remember that April 2nd is World Autism Awareness Day, so why not find out more about Autism and spread the word. Half of my job is about raising awareness, so why not ask me? You can also find many great charities and advocates on Twitter, such as the National Autistic Society, Autism Answered and more.
Thanks for reading, I just wanted to share something I'm proud of with all you lovely followers!
Christina xo
This is such an amazing thing you did! I saw the tweets and was sad I live way too far away to have come, it's a brilliant cause :). You should be proud, you are awesome!
ReplyDeleteAw thank you! :) Still so chuffed we pulled it off.
DeleteChristina xo
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ReplyDeleteI use RAV Vast music therapy all the time it helps me focus concentrate majorly when I use the therapy. everyday I listen to music and my thoughts are clear.
ReplyDeleteRAV Vast are my music therapy https://ravvast.com/catalog/drums/ravvast/