Back in April 2020, as the pandemic was taking hold, DIY partnered a virtual event that saw a whole host of artists perform live on Vans For Bands’ Facebook page for an incredibly good cause: to raise money for their new initiative, which saw their luxury tour buses – that usually house bands such as Massive Attack and Biffy Clyro on tours – parked outside of NHS hospitals to offer frontline doctors and nurses a place to rest during or after their shifts.
The company began the initiative in response to the Covid-19 outbreak, and stationed their tour buses outside of hospitals in Reading, Uxbridge, Archway, Lewisham and Stockton-on-Tees. They hoped to raise enough money through the virtual festival to cover insurance and driver fees to offer this service to many other hospitals.
Other acts confirmed to appear as part of their fundraiser included Frank Turner, Yonaka, Caro and, as a special guest headliner, Sex Pistols’ Glen Matlock.
The event was a huge success, raising over £20,000 through Just Giving.
DIY acted as media partner to the festival, promoting their festival across all the DIY channels + digital coverage on the day.
