2 WEEKS TO GO UNTIL SOUTHSIDE FRINGE’S VIRTUAL EVENT ‘PLUGGED IN & WIRED’
THE COMMUNITY-LED EVENT WILL SEE A VARIETY OF ACTS INCLUDING COMEDY, MUSIC, FOOD & DRINK AND MORE ON FRIDAY 26TH MARCH
SOUTHSIDE ORGANISATION PULLS TOGETHER TO KEEPS ARTS ALIVE AND PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR CREATIVES AFFECTED BY PANDEMIC
TO WATCH THE FREE FESTIVAL HEAD TO
WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/SOUTHSIDEFRINGE
WWW.SOUTHSIDEFRINGE.ORG.UK/PLUGGED-IN-AND-WIRED
#PluggedInandWired
The countdown is on until Southside Fringe Festival host their first ever virtual event, Plugged In & Wired. Viewers can tune in for FREE via Southside Fringe’s Youtube channel on Friday 26th March where they can enjoy an array of talent from over 50 of the best acts the city has to offer. Headliners include comedian Viv Gee, cabaret entertainer Gabriel Featherstone and musician Becci Wallace alongside acts like folk-pop brother due Braw, spoken word performer Sean Wai Keung, author Moira McPartlin and many more.
Last year saw a ‘pause’ to all live events including Southside Fringe Festival with 2020’s event cancellation seeing more than 200 creatives lose income, alongside refunds given to 45 events and 26 venues. Despite this financial impact, Southside Fringe remained committed to supporting Glasgow creatives who lost work. Now, almost a year after Scotland’s first lockdown, Plugged In & Wired comes as a welcomed and crucial platform during this challenging time, as it looks to support performers and more importantly, aims to keep the arts alive. With spring well and truly on the way, and we start to see light beyond lockdown, Plugged In & Wired aims to bring the community back together once again.
Corinna Currie, Managing Director of Southside Fringe said, “When we began this journey of diversifying the festival we were determinedly focused on providing paid work for creatives who’d lost valuable work in 2020 and shining this talent into Southside homes. What we’ve found during the process is the virtual festival has not only provided paid work but it’s also already thrown up a few unexpected and wonderful impacts.
Politics and economics throughout the pandemic has had a major impact on creatives; being one of the hardest sectors to furlough or provide financial relief for, among the last of the industries scheduled to have restrictions lifted and with creatives being encouraged to retrain to become economically ‘viable’ in the pandemic, it has all taken its toll.
During our filming weekend the power of the arts were felt viscerally. The whole team; production, techs, film maker, venue staff and the acts could palpably feel the serotonin levels rise in the venue over the course of the weekend. Unable to work and express our creativity in the ways we know, many of us come to the table with fragile mental health these days and being a part of something this special has already positively impacted all involved; providing hope, purpose and a massive reminder and appreciation of the nourishing and positive power of each individual’s creativity and the platform we provide.
We can’t wait to share all the amazing acts and those good vibes with a wider audience!”
Plugged In & Wired is free to view, but to show support to performers, viewers can donate via their ‘tip jars’ or purchase merchandise which will be available in the description of each show on YouTube. Additionally, to support Plugged In & Wired’s venue partner, The Ice Box Arts & Music Centre, viewers can purchase their ‘UNVIABLE’ t-shirts here with all proceeds helping them to maintain the Glasgow music venue.
As the biggest community organised event in Glasgow, the annual Southside Fringe Festival brings together like-minded artists and entertainers, connecting them with Southside businesses, venues and the community as a whole. The creativity and collaborative ethos of the festival ensures a stand-out event each and every year since 2013, raising the profile of Glasgow’s glorious Southside and all it has to offer.
The acts announced so far for Plugged In & Wired are:
CABARET
Headliners: Gabriel Featherstone | Laurie Black
Additional acts: 10pencemixup |7 People | Francesca Lacey | Ms Truelove Waits
COMEDY
Headliners: Eliot Simpson | Viv Gee
Additional acts: The Daft Duo |Hot Death Theatre
LITERATURE
Headliners: Words from Battlefield
Additional acts: Moira McPartlin | Sean Wai Keung
MUSIC
Headliners: Bartok Thins | Becci Wallace | Bemz |Cloud of Starlings | Scunner
Additional acts: Anna Secret Poet | Braw | Emilie Boyd & Dan Brown | Glassworks | Iain Bothwell | Linda JAXSON | Nicky Kirk and Megan MacDonald | Night Editor
SPOKEN WORD
Headliners: Kevin P. Gilday
Additional acts: Miss A Legg | Sean Wai Keung |Toni Seaward
To donate to Southside Fringe Festival, head to www.southsidefringe.org.uk/donate.
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Plugged In & Wired
We’re all hanging from a wire these days, we’ve taken that wire, plugged it in and we’ll be beaming hours of top class Southside creative talent into your homes this Spring.
Southside Fringe
The Southside Fringe Family perpetually produce a prime platform for performers, musicians, authors, artists and venues and a pandemic isn’t going to stop them. Always committed to keeping it South.
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