How has the absence of music affected you, and how you have filled the gap it left behind?
I’ve missed the live performances but replaced them by revisiting my CD collection and dusting off albums not played for years. This has brought back memories (good and bad) associated with the time I was playing them first time out and led me to a deeper appreciation of some artists I’d neglected of late. I’ve also found myself listening more closely to the lyrics and found a new relevance to today’s weird ‘new’ world. Uplifting and calming to find that music persists despite everything.
It’s been one of the most upsetting aspects of the pandemic for me – it’s music that lifts my mood whenever I feel down – nothing can replace being in a hall for a live performance whether to hear familiar pieces or something new. I had so many events booked and each time I find them listed in my diary it’s a real blow.
There has to be live music again at Sage Gateshead as well as in all the other halls around the country.