A teenage duo are joining more than 100 acts taking part in this Saturday’s Big Busk in Shrewsbury town centre.
Liv Turner, 13, and guitarist Jay Harris, 14, from Newport in Shropshire, have played together for just five months but are already making a name for themselves on the local open mic circuit.
This will be the first time Liv has joined the Big Busk, which over the past 4 years has raised over £25,000 for Shrewsbury Ark, a deserving charity that provides a safe haven in the heart of the town for those needing support in times of distress. Jay on the other hand is somewhat of a veteran, this being his third consecutive year.
The Burton Borough students both started taking an interest in Music at the fledgling age of just 7; Jay by attending his first rock concert, which unleashed a serious passion and talent for the guitar and Liv by successfully entering a church talent contest in which she sang so beautifully that most of the audience were reduced to tears! The teenagers continued to enjoy their craft individually before meeting at school last year and realising that two heads in this business really can be better than one!
Jay and Liv will be performing at 10am in front of Music Bros, 11am at the bottom of Pride Hill opposite Thomas Cook and at 1.30pm in Butchers Row. They also have the honour of joining the line-up of fabulous bands playing in The Pour House from 7pm. The evening session will be hosted by Shropshire’s own Paprika Blues Band.
The Big Busk was originally designed to be a one-off event in memory of talented musician, poet and artist Ben Bebbington, who was killed in an unprovoked attack in 2012. But it has proved so popular that it is now back for its fifth year, with more music than ever.
Karen Paterson, who is responsible for scheduling acts for the event, said: “Every year support for the Big Busk is absolutely incredible, but to have more than 100 acts signed up – from individuals, duos and groups through to huge choirs and bands – is almost overwhelming.
“All of these artists give up their time for free and all the money we raise from the Big Busk goes to Shrewsbury Ark, so we really cannot thank them, or the team of volunteers who have also signed up for the day, enough.”
For more information see http://www.thebigbusk.co.uk
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