How Reverend and The Makers are helping fans to feel less alone on Christmas Day
Spending Christmas Day alone? Why not go to a private gig in your front room instead?
Reverend and The Makers frontman Jon McClure is offering a free Zoom performance to a number of lucky fans who will be spending the big day on their own this year — a feel-good event that he started last Christmas.
The Sheffield musician announced the Zoom show on Twitter earlier this week, saying “I don’t like the idea that people will be alone at this time of year — especially during a pandemic.”
Fans can nominate themselves or someone else for the gig by replying to the Tweet or DM-ing the band on its social media channels explaining why they would love to join, with the group choosing the select Christmas Day audience next week.
Amid a rise in Omicron cases of the coronavirus, UK citizens are being advised to use caution over the festive period and plans for many have already been disrupted. And as the second year of the pandemic comes to a close, we may once again see many more people unable to travel to see loved ones or friends.
During an interview with the BBC last year, McClure said he’d already been offering private online performances throughout 2020 to those struggling with the mental and physical challenges of the pandemic.
There was no question of “being seen as a saviour of lockdown” for him though, as he noted at the time, seeing the music as a public service to spread some cheer.
“I’m quietly just trying to do a bit in the background, you know, to keep spirits up.”