The Wildflowers are coming to Manchester – you decide where they go next…
By Jacqueline Grima
This June, Bristol-based band, Wildflowers, are embarking on a tour with a difference. Starting in Loch Lomond, Scotland, on June 21st, the band’s ‘Race to Glasto’ tour will see them play seven gigs at different locations in the UK in the space of seven days, their last stop being Glastonbury Festival on 27th June. The twist is that, when the band visit Manchester on 24th June, you get to decide where they play!
Wildflowers, who have supported both Robert Plant and Tom Odell, will be setting off from Scotland in their ‘awesome but thirsty’ 90s RV and will be taking with them a kitty of just £100 to fund their journey to Glastonbury for their Saturday spot. On their way, they have decided to use their travelling time for what they call a ‘freewheeling acoustic tour’, taking a massive gamble in their hope that fans will not only fund each gig of the tour, as well as fuel for the RV, with donations, but will also decide which venues the band will play.
Suggestions for venues, which can be made to the band on Twitter, could include graduation parties, engagement parties, college or school concerts or even a simple dinner party. Perhaps you are proposing to your girlfriend and would like some background music or want to throw a birthday party with a difference. As they arrive in each city, the band will choose the most inventive suggestion and play at the winning location, passing around a bucket during the gig to fund their journey to the next destination. Any surplus cash raised will be donated to Given to Live, a charitable project that enables excluded, vulnerable and disabled people to access live music.
Singer and songwriter, Siddy Bennett, told Humanity Hallows, ‘As soon as we heard about Given to Live we wanted to get involved. Live music is such a healing experience and I particularly admire this project because they use blind faith to try and achieve what can sometimes seem impossible. They don’t know how they’re going to do it but they try it anyway, and this fits in perfectly with the spirit of our tour.’
Cities the band intend to visit with their Race to Glasto tour are: Carlisle on 22nd June; Kendal on 23rd June; Manchester on 24th June; Birmingham on 25th June and Bristol on 26th June.
For more information about the Race to Glasto project, see the band’s Facebook page or follow them on Tumblr. You can also follow Wildflowers on Twitter @WildflowersHQ where you can vote for them to play a venue near you. Any suggestions must include the hashtag #RaceToGlasto, the region you are in and the venue where you would like the band to play.
More information about Given to Live can be found on their website or you can follow them on Twitter @giventoliveuk and on Facebook.
Jacqueline Grima is currently studying for an MA in Creative Writing. When not writing, she loves listening to music, going to concerts and baking. Follow her on Twitter @GrimaJgrima
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