English Folk Expo along with Manchester Folk Festival, ONE Festival of Homeless Arts, With One Voice and Big Issue North are thrilled to announce the release of charity single ‘If There’s A Fire in Your Heart’ by Grace Petrie featuring Liam Jordan, Paula Wichall and ben greenland.
Every listen and download raises much needed funds for Big Issue North Trust.
About the project:
Back in November 2018 the With One Voice International Arts and Homelessness Summit took place in Manchester. Delegates from fifteen countries came together to explore and celebrate the role the arts can play in tackling homelessness.
It was there that an idea was born to showcase three artists that had experienced homelessness to the audience and industry delegates at Manchester Folk Festival and English Folk Expo – not only to help raise awareness of the subject, but to also give the artists an opportunity to progress in their field.
English Folk Expo, Manchester Folk Festival, With One Voice and ONE Festival of Homeless Arts joined forces to make that idea a reality and after an advertised recruitment process Paula Wichall, Liam Jordan and ben greenland were selected as the artists to take part.
In October 2019 Paula, Liam and ben spent three days in Manchester where they not only presented an unforgettable showcase, but also attended an industry training day designed to give a practical guide to building a long-term career within the music business and finally, spent a day in a recording studio with protest singer and social justice activist, Grace Petrie.
Grace was the perfect choice to join up with these artists and create something to raise awareness and tackle the subject of homelessness. What came out of that day was a rerecording of ‘If There’s a Fire Your Heart’ – a defiant song for troubled times.
With thanks to Big Issue North the song is now widely available and every listen and download raises much need funds so that the trust can continue to help the people who sell the magazine on the streets to meet their goals and change their lives.
