Party to celebrate musical charity’s big birthday

ALL of Dublin is invited to a musical celebration of one of the city’s more unique charities.

The Musical Youth Foundation has announced details of its fourth Birthday Concert starring festival favourites The Barley Mob with support from The Bionic Rats.

The children’s charity, which works to provide every child in Ireland with access to a musical education, will mark its fourth anniversary with a special fundraising concert in the Button Factory on Friday, November 29 at 7.30pm.

The Barley Mob, famous for their feel-good live shows, will headline the event with support from The Bionic Rats. Tickets for the gig, described as a music lovers’ feast, are keenly priced at just e10 each or, if you’re a clever early bird, you can avail of a special price and pick up two tickets for just e14 from www.entertainment.ie.

Charity founder and CEO, Chris Maher, said everyone was invited to the party.

“We’re asking everyone to come and join us in the Button Factory for what will be a very special celebration of music from two of Ireland’s best live bands,

? Chris said.

“Aside from being a great night of music the event is a very important fundraiser for the charity. We have very few resources and although we make every euro we get count we desperately need more funds to continue our work.

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Readers of the Dublin People may be familiar with The Barley Mob and The Bionic Rats from their crowd-pleasing performances at the annual Dublin City Soul Festival last May when both bands performed to a 5,000 strong crowd in Merrion Square Park.

On the night, the charity will also unveil a short video documentary that tells the story of one of the young people involved in the charity and how music has changed his life.

The video which was funded by MYF supporters StubHub (www.stubhub.co.uk/Ireland) will also be available online at www.musicalyouthfoundation.org from November 29.

Since the charity’s launch in 2009 they have provided over 1,000 hours of professional music lessons and free musical instruments to at-risk young people in Dublin.

Although still in its infancy the Musical Youth Foundation has big plans for the future and despite receiving no Government funding to date they are having a life-changing impact on the young people participating in their specialist music programmes.

Chris added:

“Although we have almost no resources we have managed to help over 100 children learn to play the guitar in the last few years.

“The impact has been enormous as many of the kids we work with are at risk of becoming early school leavers and through music we have been able to re-engage them with the overall education process.

“At the same time it is extremely frustrating to know we have a working programme that can make a real and lasting difference to every child in Ireland yet we don’t have the financial resources to expand the programme.

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Individuals or corporations interested in helping the Musical Youth Foundation to achieve their vision can get in touch via the official website at www.musicalyouthfoundation.org or by emailing [email protected]

The Birthday Concert is one of two special fundraising gigs scheduled to take place before the end of the year.

The other is the charity’s annual Christmas Party, which this year will see soul and funk favourites The Goods v’s Soul Power take to the Button Factory stage on Friday, December 20.