colcconcerts

[colcconcerts]

The New Immigrants, pictured here donating a great set for our Robes Project fundraiser at Amott Baptist in association with community foodshifters Grove Collective, who catered. The Immigrants play the Old Dispensary #Camberwell at the weekend, venue for our previous Peckham FoodCycle benefit. #freeentry. Come out and show them some love! ❤️

[colcconcerts]

Just before Christmas we were pleased to present a community screening of @medicinemanstanbrock followed by live music from @jmccleanclan and @radarbasemusic (here with a bit of their great track 'Wildlife') at @theoutpostbermondsey. It takes in a festive evening with Medicine Man and Grove Collective personnel cameos ... as well as quick clips from the documentary! The event raised £300 for brilliant charities  @robesproject_ and @vchp_charity . #wildlife #StanBrock #eyecare #homelesscare #wintercare #opticalcare #londoncare @remoteareamedicalph @remoteareamedical @manofkentpub @thegreyhound.uk #frontline @paulmichaelangell @vladimir.v.daniel @mari_fe1004 @waelkabbani88 #fundraising #community @dentaidthedentalcharity #benefit #musicianswholift #healthcare

[colcconcerts]

Winding it back to just before Christmas when we were pleased to present a community screening of @medicinemanstanbrock followed by live music from @jmccleanclan (quick clip here with a Dylan cover - a Clan track features in the documentary), along with late night act @radarbasemusic. The event raised £300 for charities @robesproject_ and @vchp_charity. Also thankful to The Clan for headlining our August '24 event in @amottbaptist, also in aid of Robes, who are presently working flat out in the New Year finding new volunteer churches to shelter and feed the homeless in South London during this cold weather! 🥶 Great to see lots of new churches involved!

[colcconcerts]

A quick pic look back to our December event in collaboration with Medicine Man: The Stan Brock Story and Grove Collective, raising funds for Robes Project and Vision Care for Homeless People at The Outpost! We were pleased to present a community film screening of Medicine Man followed by live music from John McClean & The Clan and RadarBase. We pushed Final Frantic Xmas Shopping Friday but still managed to raise £300 on the night. Photos from top down: Event flyer 1, Lisa of Robes and Elaine of VCHP introduce the documentary, film underway, The Clan, RadarBase, some of Grove Collective's downstairs catering during music, a view of the diverse Outpost cask beer bar (just past Medicine Man Producer Vladimir Daniel checking social media), some of the Medicine Man team with RadarBase, and event flyer 2. We'll be putting up some short music clips taken from both sets ...

[colcconcerts]

MAKING GOOD MUSIC & FOOD & RAISING ££ FOR A VERY GOOD SOUTH LONDON HOMELESS CHARITY!

Where would you spend the busiest evening of the busiest weekend of the busiest part of the August summer holiday month?

Seeing a lot of great music - 7 acts in all - at a Robes Project fundraiser in South London, of course!

People typically evacuate London in August for summer half-term but a great crowd turned up, lots of fun was had and funds were raised for stellar South London homeless charity Robes (robes.org.uk) in Amott Baptist Church (near Goose Green) on 17th August, an event organised by community groups Cost of Living Crisis Concerts, Grove Collective and Camberwell blues band John McClean and the Clan.

Energy prices are skyrocketing, food and petrol prices are rising, taxes are up and wages are stagnating, rents are increasing. With London hunger and homelessness both on dramatic rise, non-denominational Robes try to fill the gap by supporting homeless people with winter shelter in churches across Southwark and Lambeth from November to March. Robes provides a safe, warm place to sleep, a hot meal and support for the many London vulnerable seeking to rebuild their lives.

Grove Collective, a community "foodshifting" group active since 2017, was founded by John McClean and the Clan with early assistance from Copleston Centre Peckham. Grove Collective organised and catered this Robes event through its Cost of Living Crisis Concerts (COLCC) partner. It provides food for food-led charity, COLCC works to raise money to assist charity provision. This Robes Project fundraiser brought everyone together in Amott Baptist Church, a venue no one expected and in the name of homelessness, a new turn – shelter and food.

This wasn't the originally envisaged gig for Robes with lots of local community choirs in a South London church. But August. Choirmasters couldn't find enough voices for parts. So what ensued was an 11th hour pivot to blues, folk and pop ... and what support! Heaps of local musicians were on-hand for this event to help raise money to help. And with a distinct Antipodean flair in the air! The 7 acts on the night included New Zealander Alan Evans with Who Slapped John (https://whoslappedjohn.com), Lizzie Shirley of Telegraph Hill Community Choir (https://www.southeastlondonchoir.com), Vronksy (Crystal Palace-based indie folk back on the scene after too long an absence - https://vronskyband.bandcamp.com/album/time-of-letting-go), the superb blues/jazz singer-songwriter Winston Skeritt (Camberwell - https://soundcloud.com/winston-skerritt), fabulous Post-Rock songsmith Tim Wright of Orchestra Fantasma (https://tawright.bandcamp.com) popular Camberwell folk pop band The New Immigrants (https://www.thenewimmigrants.org), and New Zealand's all-time best Taranaki-to-London transplants John McClean & the Clan, London's only psychedelic rockin' gospel blues band (https://johnmccleanandtheclan.bandcamp.com)!

The evening's headliner may well have been Grove Collective's volunteer catering crew who put on a great spread. They hope to replicate their exotic fusion and beverage menu at Amott with a COLCC community choirs event next year!

Said one volunteer: "whatever it takes, we'll get it done!"

####

Text - Alex Zdan

Pictures - Vladimir Daniel, Bob Rosa, Amott Road Baptist Church

https://www.instagram.com/grovecollectiveselondon

https://www.instagram.com/colcrisisconcerts

https://www.robes.org.uk

[colcconcerts]

Just before the NEXT one, a few memories from the LAST one!

This weekend we host our 5th Cost of Living Crisis Concert in aid of the Robes Project, the only COLCC benefit in 2024. Hands up, who remembers the last one? Event #4 was held in November of 2024 at the Old Dispensary, Camberwell, in aid of Peckham Foodcycle. Here's a selection of photos from that night!

Our billed headliner was HOTMOTEL, who headlined our first funder at OTC in 2022 ...

It didn't quite work to plan though, as MeU with Patrick Lyons, ended up closing the night ...

There were also some unbilled Special Guests, like Mötherwitz Band, featuring Dispensary barkeep Patrick on drums ... we're still grateful for Patrick's donation to Foodcycle from bar proceeds!

Undici had a great night (we saw them and Tahlia Gray at the Herne Hill Music Festival's edition of Junior Open Mic and just had to ask them all to play, both great sets). Those kids are going places ...

Paul Betts of All The President's Men got us started with a brief opening set ...

... and Ed Kingpin, frontman of The Dubious Characters introduced Joe O'Reilly, FoodCycle Area Manager, onto the stage for a few words before the Characters launched into their billed set. Really grateful for their participation - TDC also performed a stripped down set at our 3rd event in Feb 2023 in the Electric Elephant Cafe

Last memory ... MeU and Dubious Characters guitarist Rufus Miller and a FoodCycle volunteer! Rufus has now performed at THREE of our events, which includes a solo set at our 2nd benefit in December 2022!

And that's a scrolling web blog wrap! See you this weekend, Saturday August 17th at Amott Road Baptist Church for our 5th Edition in aid of Robes!

[colcconcerts]

Robes Project Benefit 17th August 2024 in Amott Road Baptist Church

It may be the busiest day of the busiest month of this August's summer hols, but hope you can make it down for our only #fundraiser in 2024 on 17th August at Amott Road Baptist Church, which benefits Robes Project! We're joining forces with John McClean & The Clan, Grove Collective and lots of artists who are donating their talents!

John McClean & Friends top the bill, with great support from indie folksters The New Immigrants. Also on tap: T.A.Wright & Orchestra Fantasma bring their special psych, post punk and country music sound, Winston Skerritt Music offers his amazing jazzy blues, Vronsky makes a comeback after a long hiatus with indie folk, and we have the inimitable voice of Telegraph Community Choir's Lizzie Shirley. Rupert Ingham of HOTMOTEL comperes.

On-site catering organised by the Grove Collective team. More music TBA so check COLCC and Grove Collective socials for updates. Great music, great cause - Robes Project provides winter shelter for the #vulnerable, October to March across #Lambeth & #Southwark. Visit their website at https://robes.org.uk/

[colcconcerts]

COLCC ... so far

We've put on four COLCC fundraisers so far ... from Herne Hill to Camberwell, launching in 2022 and raising £ for a variety of food-led charities. We always hoped that the Cost of Living Crisis would have bottomed out by now but it doesn't appear to be the case. We've raised funds for Albrighton Community Fridge and St Giles Trust to Healthy Living Platform and FoodCycle. Number 5 coming up soon, August 17, 2024 - only one this year. And with homeless in mind. Here are our first 4 flyers ... amazing it has taken this long to get a web-blog going!