This weekend, a samba-reggae band of 50 drummers from Batala Mersey will perform on the streets of Liverpool to collect funds for the Ukraine Crisis Appeal. The Red Cross and Batala Mersey have teamed up to put on a fundraising performance on Church Street in Liverpool on Sunday, March 20.
Members of sibling bands Batala Lancaster, Batala Bangor, and Batala Bermo will join the Liverpool-based drumming ensemble to make as much noise as possible for the people of Ukraine. From 1pm to 3.30pm, three or four drumming groups will perform in the city centre, with buckets for monetary donations on the spot and a JustGiving link for online donations.
Batala Mersey was created in 2015 and is part of a global network founded by Bahian percussionist Giba Gonçalves, which has over 1,000 drummers worldwide.
The Liverpool “Mersey” group has been performing for seven years and has appeared at a number of high-profile events in the region, including Light Night, Africa Oye, Liverpool Pride, Carfest, the National Diversity Awards, LFC Foundation, and the ICC Cricket World Cup.
The Whitechapel Centre, Alder Hey Children’s Charity, KIND, and Refugee Women Connect are among the local charities that have benefited from the community group’s annual festive event at Liverpool ONE.
April Molyneux, musical caller and organiser of the fundraiser, said:
“The events in Ukraine shocked and saddened me to my core, and so I knew I needed to do something to try and help,” said April.
“Batala Mersey is a community band and we’ve done quite a few successful fundraisers in the past. We knew we had to take action to support Ukraine in this time of crisis.
“There are Batala bands like us all around the world, and we will be supported at this event on Sunday by members of our sister bands from North England and Wales. We expect to have around 50 drummers on the day and we’re expecting it to be an incredible dynamic performance of percussion and choreography.
“The people of Liverpool are generous and soulful, and we aim to give them an unforgettable performance whilst they donate anything they can to the British Red Cross and DEC Ukraine Appeal. This is our way of giving to our local community, whilst helping a mighty cause.
“We invite people to come along, have fun and dig deep.”
Check out the Facebook event page for the latest updates.
To help support the cause you can donate to the fundraiser at their Just Giving page here.
