Salford student organises Music for Mental Health charity night
- A student from Salford University is organising a night of live music to raise money for mental health charities
- An array of live bands are expected to make up the bill
A young man from Manchester is channelling his passion for music and helping others by organising a Music for Mental Health charity night.
Liam Casey, 20, who studies history and politics at the University of Salford, first came up with the idea on his own as a way of bringing people with shared interests together.
According to Liam, the idea for the event, scheduled for 26th January 2018 at Salford University Students’ Union, was originally sparked by a desire to put on a night full of music for people to just enjoy.
He said: “It was only later on that I realised I could also make money for mental health charities.
“Mental health is close to my heart as I have suffered from both depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and also attempted suicide once before.”
Although Liam is doing most of the groundwork for the event alone, he is also lucky enough to have the backing of well-known Mancunian DJ Dave Sweetmore as well as his own father, Barry Casey, a former radio DJ himself.
The plans come as Help Musicians UK also set up their own mental health support line as part of their Music Minds Matter campaign, launched after the death of Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington.
The organisation recently oversaw a 22% increase in requests for help from musicians across the UK, according to their health and welfare team.
Liam said: “This event will mostly be a band night made up of three different bands ranging from indie rock to new generation pop punk.
“My only real hope is that people will just enjoy themselves in a shared passion for music while also raising money and awareness for an amazing cause.”
Although Liam is unable to reveal every detail at this stage for contractual reasons, one band already confirmed for the event is Birmingham indie outfit The Clause.
The Clause, made up of four exciting youngsters, released their third single Sixteen in August and have since amassed an army of support across the UK.
Lead guitarist Liam Deakin, pictured furthest left (photo: Laura Benwell), says they are honoured to be playing at the event as it centres on an important subject that needs tackling.
He said: “Mental health seriously needs to be talked about and wider spread so that the people going through it don’t feel so alone.
“We believe that music is one of the best forms of therapy and so bringing the two together to help out is brilliant.”
Liam admits he has also been at war with his own mental health for a long time and believes it is a much more serious problem than many people first think.
“I think everybody knows someone who struggles with it”, he said.
“Doing things like this is kind of sticking your fingers up to the people who tell those with problems to ‘man up’ and to a government that cuts the funding towards it.”
The Clause will be joined on the bill at Salford Students’ Union in January by an array of other artists to be confirmed at a later date.
Stay tuned to the Northern Quota for updates about the event.