A War Child benefit

IDLES, Portishead and many more to play one-off Ukrainian HELP! Concert for War Child in Bristol

IDLES, Portishead, Billy Nomates, Katy J Pearson, Heavy Lungs and Wilderman will play a one-off benefit gig for War Child at the O2 Academy Bristol on Bank Holiday, Monday 2nd May 2022. Friendly Records, Crosstown Concerts and War Child UK have joined forces to bring this huge fundraising concert for Ukraine to the Southwest. The concert’s 1200 exclusive tickets will only be available through a £10 prize draw. The HELP! concert will feature an extraordinary bill - both up and coming and globally renowned - coming together to celebrate the music of the city and to raise much needed funds for Ukraine.

Returning heroes IDLES follow their lauded fourth album Crawler and a sold-out global arena tour with their only hometown show of 2022. Lead singer Joe Talbot: “We have been kindly invited to play this show for the benefit of War Child. Please donate or sign up to this charity. We believe that nobody should endure war, especially children. Thank you.” IDLES will be joined on the night by Portishead, unarguably one of the city’s most revered and inspirational groups. This one-off HELP! show will be their first live performance since 2015 and their only show of 2022. Portishead (Geoff Barrow, Beth Gibbons & Adrian Utley): “We are really pleased to be able to support the people of Ukraine by performing a few songs at this event in collaboration with the amazing War Child charity.” Also performing on the night will be Billy Nomates, Katy J Pearson and Heavy Lungs. Heavy Lung Ukrainian lead vocalist Danny Nedelko says: “Hailing originally from Odessa, this is a cause very close to my heart. It’s incredibly special being a part of this show. We are going to bring our absolute best.”

Further acts including Willie J Healey, Wilderman and DJ Boca 45 will be performing across both of the venue’s performance spaces, and more acts are promised to be announced in the coming weeks.

The £10 prize draw will see 600 pairs of lucky ticket holders attend the event. Everyone entering the prize draw will have access to a high quality online live stream of the whole event.

Proceeds raised prior to and during the six-hour special will go to War Child UK, helping them to continue their work supporting refugees and children affected by war and conflict around the world. Donations will help the unfolding crisis in Ukraine, and match funding from the UK government will also go to Yemen where millions of children are still in desperate need of protection from conflict. Rich Clarke, Head of War Child Records comments: “War Child is hugely grateful to the artist community for coming together to create this amazing night of live music at O2 Academy Bristol. So many people have donated their time and energy to bring this show together and help War Child stand up for the rights of children affected by war in areas like Ukraine. We deliver life-changing services and support in communities affected by conflicts to keep children safe and help them to heal and learn for the chance of a better future. The impact of the situation in Ukraine will affect an entire generation and there will be acutely vulnerable children who need our help to stay safe. The money raised by this gig will make sure that we can respond quickly to children who need that support right now.” Tickets will be going on sale for the shows at midday on April 7th 2022. The prize draw can be entered either by donating online or for free by sending a postcard with the entrant’s name, address and contact details clearly written in black or blue ink to WAR CHILD BRISTOL, Studio 320, Highgate Studios, 53-79 Highgate Road, London NW5 1TL.

The prize draw will open at midday on Thursday 7th April 2022 and closes at midnight on Sunday 24th April. Winners will be chosen at random on Monday 25th April. There will be additional opportunities to donate further to the charity, and exclusive merchandise for the event will also be available. Artwork for the show and merchandise has been created by 3D (Robert Del Naja) of Massive Attack. All ticketing details can be found at: www.ticketmaster.co.uk/warchildbristol