Holiday Jam for Hunger does the ‘pandemic pivot’

While the COVID-19 pandemic has put a stop to live music, organizers of the annual Holiday Jam for Hunger still wanted the show to go on.

Over the past 17 years more than 35 local musicians shared their talents for this holiday show; all to help raise much needed funds for the local food bank.

But with all public events cancelled, organizers have had to do what so many others have over the past nine months: the pandemic pivot.

This musical tradition started in 2004 and has continued every year since, organized the last ten years by local musician Alysson Storey.

While different community organizations have benefited from each concert, several years ago Chatham-Kent Outreach for Hunger was adopted as the annual recipient, as the need continues to grow every year.

“All of the musicians who have played over the years have strong connections to Chatham-Kent and wanted to support a local organization like Outreach for Hunger,” Storey stated in a press release.

“2020 food bank usage has skyrocketed in CK so the need is greater than ever. Even though we can’t have our usual concert, we still wanted to help. But how can you hold a music event when you can’t get together? Well we had to get creative.”

The music will go on – online, that is.

Storey, her husband Dan Davidson and friend (and tech guru) Brian French have been going through countless hours of footage from past Hunger Jams – footage that goes back to 2007.

“Brian was always generous with his time – if he was available, he would record a few songs on his phone for us here and there,” Storey said.

“Then as phone technology improved, so did the footage quality. The last few years we were able to record more footage, but we were only recording for fun for us – we never imagined we might need it for this reason.”

When Storey realized they’d have to make other plans for the Hunger Jam, she contacted Brian and asked him about compiling the footage he had into an online package for people to enjoy.

And the idea took off from there.

They went through over 10 years’ worth of events and countless hours of footage to gather up a ‘Top 20’ list.

By Storey’s count, at least 36 local musicians have participated, in at least 16 local bands, playing at least 19 different instruments at six different venues.

“We had a great walk down memory lane seeing some of the old shows and everyone playing their favourite music together.”

And while Storey advises people not to expect a professional-grade studio presentation, she asks people to remember the reason behind creating this online playlist.

“This is a fun labour of love to help make up for us missing the usual donations that would come in for the Hunger Jam live concert,” she said.

“It’s not MTV’s Behind the Music – it’s a fun and easygoing way to spend some time over the holidays walking down memory lane, enjoying music from great local musicians over the years, sharing their talents to help others in their community. That’s worth celebrating.”

For donations of $20 and over, you’ll get a private website link to ‘Holiday Jam for Hunger
Greatest Hits’ on December 29, traditionally the date the event is held.

This link will contain a ‘Greatest Hits’ playlist from many of the musicians who performed as part of the event over the years.

Donations over $100 will receive the MegaMusicalMemory Pack – access to the full Holiday Jam for Hunger musical archive from the past 13 years.

If you follow the local music scene, you’ll recognize many of the talented musicians who have graced the Hunger Jam stage over the years.

Groups like Blutonium, Chatham Funk All-Stars, the Dave Trinca Xperience, The Davidson Band, Kings of the North, Superfly, Ladies Lounge and more have all been on stage and shared their talents.

There are several ways to donate:

– Call or email Alysson at at 519-365-2129 or alyssonstorey@gmail.com. to arrange an off-line donation

– Donate through the Facebook event page: ‘Holiday Jam for Hunger: Pandemic PIVOT’

– Visit www.hungerjam.ca and follow the links

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