A samba-reggae group of 50 drummers will take to the streets of Liverpool this weekend to raise money for the Ukraine Crisis Appeal.
Batala Mersey have linked up with the Red Cross to organise the fundraising performance on Church Street in Liverpool on Sunday 20 March.
The Liverpool-based drumming group will be joined by members of sister bands, Batala Lancaster, Batala Bangor and Batala Bermo, to make as much noise as possible for the people of Ukraine. The event will feature three or four drumming sets in the city centre from 1pm to 3.30pm with buckets for cash collections on the day, as well as a JustGiving link for online donations.
Batala Mersey was started in 2015 and is part of an international network founded by Bahian percussionist Giba Gonçalves with a worldwide membership of over 1,000 drummers.
The “Mersey” group in Liverpool has been going for seven years and in that time performed at some high profile gigs around the North West, including Light Night, Africa Oye, Liverpool Pride, Carfest, the National Diversity Awards, LFC Foundation, and the ICC Cricket World Cup.
The community group has now become well-known for its annual festive fundraiser in Liverpool ONE, which has benefited local organisations such as The Whitechapel Centre, Alder Hey Children’s Charity, KIND, and Refugee Women Connect.
April Molyneux, musical caller and organiser of the fundraiser, said that the band are hoping to raise as much money as possible for the Ukraine Crisis Appeal.
“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.”
For the latest updates, follow the Facebook event here. You can donate to the fundraiser via the Just Giving page online.
