ON WEDNESDAY, residents have the chance to attend the nearest thing to a live music gig.
The Everyman Cinema, in Elms Field has teamed up with Jamma, a national music company supporting independent artists, for an evening of music.
Founded by Nathan Fullbrook, who grew up in Wokingham, Jamma links musicians with venues and digital recording specialists to bring music to the country.
Launched before lockdown, Jamma championed the importance of live performance.
“I couldn’t believe we launched a platform for live gigging — and now it’s dead,” Mr Fullbrook said. “We revised where we were at, and launched a podcast series, called The Lockdown Sessions.
“The Everyjam event came from thinking outside of the box,” Mr Fullbrook explained. “We met the Wokingham team when they opened up last year, and the partnership has grown from there.”
The event, which starts at 8pm on Wednesday evening, includes an hour long, pre-recorded film with four performances from independent artists.
It features acoustic performances from Mike Wagner, Chloe Leigh, Jay Bellamy and rockband, Mother Vulture will change the pace of the event at the end.
“We wanted to include a range of genres to suit everyone,” Mr Fullbrook said. “Each artist recorded their live set at Generation Studio, in Maidenhead — they’re one of our partner companies at Jamma.
“Any artists that use Jamma can get a 25% discount when using their studio.”
He added: “It’s incredible working with such a strong brand as Everyman. It’s the start of a long-term partnership — we both feel this is really important to help boost the local economy and bring people back into Wokingham.
“Nobody has been able to go out and see live music for months.”
A spokesperson from Everyman Cinema said: “Jamma offers a great opportunity for us to find and partner with musicians around the UK. We are excited to see what a partnership will look like in the future and about the prospect of bringing more live music to Wokingham and beyond.
“Since 2015 we’ve created and run the Everyman Music Film festival – a celebration of the crossover and creativity between the fields of music and film. It has been held annually at our various venues across the UK, including Islington’s Screen On The Green – where The Clash and Sex Pistols played their first London gig.
“Music is truly at the core of what we love to do and we work continuously to ensure our venues are filled with music – be it live or through our Apple Music curated playlists.”
They added: “All guests will be socially distanced in the screen and we will serve everyone directly to their seats. Hand sanitiser is provided throughout the venue and masks are required to be worn at all times unless eating and drinking.
“We do have our full menu available but we recommend not arriving too early to ensure there is no congestion or crowding in the bar.”
The first Everyjam event will be launched in Wokingham, as a nod to Mr Fullbrook’s hometown. But plans are in place to roll-out the pre-recorded performance evenings across the UK.
On the night, ticket holders will be treated to a Jammatini cocktail, included within the £14.30 ticket price and created by events company and Jamma partner, Tin and Glass.
For more information, and to book a ticket, visit: www.everymancinema.com/Booking/wokingham/8548184
