Artists for the Liverpool Welcomes fundraising gig for refugees have been announced ahead of the 14 November event.

Local artists will perform sets and family-friendly activities will run at the Baltic Triangle’s 24 Kitchen Street in aid of charities to support Syrian refugees via the Liverpool Welcomes Helping Hand Fund.

The fund is administered by Merseyside Refugee Support Network and MSF Doctors Without Borders.

Holly de Sylva, One Fell Swoop and De Sylva PR, says: “Liverpool Welcomes sprung up in response to the refugee crisis, the worst we’ve seen since WW2.

“We want to fundraise for charities at home and abroad and it’s led by a collective of 20 volunteers from a variety of backgrounds, from festival organisers to social workers.

“Everyone’s worked really hard to pull together a gig at Kitchen Street on 14 November with some amazing bands on the bill, and also a free day of workshops and arts on 5th December in the Bluecoat.

“Liverpool Welcomes want refugees to decide how the funds are distributed locally and a big aim is to get more volunteers on board supporting refugees in Liverpool, so this is a great opportunity to meet the agencies and get involved!”

Bands performing at the gig include Science of the Lamps, Dominic Dunn, Francisco Carrasco, Mersey Wylie, The Lotharios, Katumba and The Soul Rays.

Threshold Festival artistic director and Science of the Lamps singer, Kaya Herstad, says: “It’s easy to feel helpless in the situation watching families make their way across Europe, or even worse, fail to.

“There’s not much we can do, but by coming together and sharing our skills and passion, spread awareness and hopefully raise some funds is an attempt to do something and hopefully create a ripple effect.

“One of the reasons I have stayed in Liverpool so long and made it my home, is because Liverpool people are warm, friendly, perhaps sarcastic and quick witted, but most of all welcoming. The melting pot of people from all of the world is what have made the city through history – a relatively small city yet one of the most famous in the world, and also what has shaped the creative scene.

“In this horrible crisis, I hope that the people who have had to flee their homes – for such different reasons than me exploring the world – can experience feeling welcomed to the city.

“A Facebook post started it all a few weeks back, and the team has come together to create something amazing that will hopefully encourage more people to engage and be more aware of the positive impact we could make if we work together.

The gig will feature local artists such as Dominic Dunn, who recorded ‘The Angel’ in honour of Hillsborough campaigner, Anne Williams, and performed at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Dominic says: “I’m really pleased to be involved with the Liverpool Welcomes event. I’m very proud to be a Scouser, we’re all immigrants here so it’s right that we should be opening our arms to welcome more people who can add to the diversity that makes this city the best in the world!

“I’m looking forward to playing at the event and I have enjoyed working with the organising team – they’re really committed to making this event a success so I hope everyone gets behind this and gets involved!”

Liverpool funk band, The Soul Rays, says: “The Soul Rays are proud be involved in the Liverpool Welcomes gig in support of refugees moving to the area from Syria and other surrounding countries.

“We feel that giving our time to such an important humanitarian cause is the very least we can do, and support the cause whole heartedly.

“We hope that, with our involvement, we can help to raise much needed money and a greater level of awareness to this global crisis which is being largely ignored.

“The Soul Rays themselves have band members from different countries all over the world and strongly believe that, as humans, we should do what we can to help our fellow humans in their time of need.

Holly adds: “If you’d like to donate or tell your friends, the money raised will go to Doctors Without Borders and Merseyside Refugee Support Network.”

To buy tickets and/or donate, visit: http://liverpoolwelcomes.org/

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