LutonAid returns this year in a new, more intimate venue in Harvey’s on Park Street. LutonAid will still be over two days but will have some subtle changes to reflect the ongoing development of the well-loved annual gig and its parent charity, LutonAid Music Academy (LAMA).
After ten years of supporting Keech Hospice Care, during which time we – and you – raised nearly twenty thousand pounds, we have decided that LutonAid will now raise funds for LAMA, to give back to the music community that rallied round that first event at the Student Union bar in 2005, and that has continued to do so for 13 years now.
We want to help to ensure other music projects can happen across the town. We want to help musicians and bands to perform and feel supported in doing so. We want to create something that continues well beyond the vision of a group of people who thought, “What else can we do with this?” many moons ago. We want something that is sustainable and will live on well beyond the original group, who with the help of that devoted music community, were able to form the charity back in 2011/2012.
To do this, the next logical step for LutonAid is to work to support musicians of all ages to make the kind of music they want to. We want LAMA to help to support, encourage and develop the future generations of independent music locally for years to come.
We have developed a process for applying for small grants to assist with live music and arts projects, whether that is creating a film, putting on a gig, creating an art piece around Luton’s live music scene or anything else that supports music and the arts in Luton, and we’ll launch that with more information at this years LutonAid.
We know this is a change, but the long-term plan and vision has always been to build something onto the foundations of LutonAid to support local independent music making and where related, the arts. We feel by doing this, we will achieve our ultimate aim.
Again, we thank you for you continued support and look forward to seeing you on Friday 15 and Saturday 16 June.
