TOURING UPDATE:
Trying to keep calm and drink tea! In light of the world situation I thought it worth updating on my touring situation as I have, on paper, a very busy touring period right through April, May and June particularly and beyond. Of course this has been thrown in to doubt but to be honest at the moment, there is no major news. Just a note this is all about my solo work. UFQ will be posting about things in due course (but thanks Guildford for a great gig last night!)
UK tour: As yet none of my public gigs have been cancelled so my April/May/June tour of the UK is, for now, not totally thrown out. All I can really do is monitor the situation like everyone else and make decisions as things change – of course it’s entirely possible that some or all of the gigs are postponed but there’s no real need to make decisions on this yet as it’s mid-March and the vast majority of my solo gigs are in May/June. It will be decided on a case by case basis as it comes up. Much of the tour is in folk clubs and similar venues which means crowds not in the hundreds and quite a few purely on door sales so it leaves a bit of wiggle room.
Canada tours: This I am dreading having to make a decision about. I’m scheduled for a June tour of eastern Canada and an August tour of Alberta, both trips including a big festival appearance. Again, I’m holding off making a firm decision over this until I have to.
So no real news I guess…but I just wanted to check in with everyone. It’s been a whirlwind week where it’s become clear just how serious this all is and how much it will affect the self employed and everyone else.
Not going to lie, it’s scary. A lot is tied up in my upcoming tours for my living and my future and to realise it could all be gone is bloody scary. Tours and festivals are by far my biggest earner. Another income stream is care homes which of course quite rightly has also been cut off. The one saving grace is much of my teaching is on skype so I can at least carry on with that (and perhaps look for more!). I am also looking into the possibility of online gigging during the crisis.
This is all rather a selfish stream of consciousness folks. I know there will be people worse affected than me and people to whom the actual health aspect of this is far scarier. The virus wouldn’t harm me too much I don’t think but I know that’s not true for many. Solidarity with you all – stay in touch. Keep calm and drink tea.