Gavin announced the event in a statement, saying; “I’m delighted not only to be releasing new music but also to finally do a concert, and streaming from the Dublin Vinyl pressing plant where the record is been manufactured makes it extra special.”

The new EP includes the song, I Miss You (Paddy’s Song), which is dedicated to Gavin’s late Uncle Paddy, who passed away earlier this year at the age of 95 to COVID-19. Talking to RTÉ Entertainment, Gavin talked about his uncle saying; “Paddy was the best friend of my whole family. He was my uncle Paddy, but he wasn’t a blood relative, but he was such a huge part of the family. He never married and he had so much time for my family.”

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If heaven had a telephone what would your message be to your loved one? This song is my message to my uncle Paddy who passed on due to COVID, he was 95, an absolute gentleman, lived a huge life and we were all just sad to not have the chance to say goodbye x please share your messages

A post shared by Gavin James (@gavinjameslive) on Oct 2, 2020 at 2:15am PDT

The performance tomorrow will also be the launch event for Huawei’s new FreeBuds Pro Wireless Stereo Earbuds. This isn’t the first time Gavin has teamed up with Huawei, he performed a festive gig with Huawei last December.

Speaking about the partnership Gavin said; “It was a no brainer for me to partner with Huawei again, especially with the new FreeBuds Pro, which I use and they have amazing studio-quality sound! This gig is something special and I’m really looking forward to being able to perform again. The virtual streamed experience is new but the fact that we can make the music in such a brilliant venue is amazing.”

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So excited to announce that my six-track “Boxes EP” will be released on Oct 2nd, and to celebrate the launch I’m doing a live-streamed full production show from @dublinvinyl pressing plant. The concert which is presented by Huawei Freebuds Pro @huaweimobileie will take place on Saturday 3rd October at 8pm IST Exclusive tickets for the live stream concert are included with the purchase of the limited edition signed Vinyl or CD and are available to purchase now at www.GavinJamesMusic.com

A post shared by Gavin James (@gavinjameslive) on Sep 11, 2020 at 2:03am PDT

To get tickets to the event, all fans had to do was  purchase the limited edition signed Vinyl or CD which are available to purchase now at The Record Hub and GavinJames-Music.com. Boxes is now available on all platforms.

The concert is to support the live music initiatives Minding Creative Minds and the Association of Irish Stage Technicians Hardship Fund as the Irish music industry continues to face an uncertain future during this pandemic.

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Catch ‘Songs from An Empty Room’ on RTÉ 2fm, @rte2 and @rteplayer from 8.30pm on Saturday, July 25th Hosted by our very own @eoghanmcdermott and @jennygreene, watch some of Ireland’s best bands perform from live music venues across the country #WeAreTheSupportAct #SupportingArtistsSupportingUs

A post shared by RTÉ 2FM (@rte2fm) on Jul 14, 2020 at 1:00am PDT

The event is being produced by RTÉ and EPIC (The Event Production Industry Covid-19 Working Group) and hosted by radio stars Eoghan McDermott and Jenny Grenne. In an Instagram post, Eoghan McDermott spoke about the purpose of the event saying;  “Music From An Empty room celebrates and supports the people behind the scenes of the music that improves all of our lives. Like so many people and maybe more than many of us, their industry has been absolutely battered, which means their ability to make a living is majorly hindered.

“Every special moment of magic from a live gig was made possible by this community of sound and light crew, stage crew, front of house staff and all the behind the scenes heroes. This gig sees some of Ireland’s best artists playing for free to raise money for this community.”

Acts include; Aimée, Denise Chaila, Eve Belle, Fia Moon, Gavin James, Jafaris, James Vincent McMorrow, Lisa McHugh, Lyra, Mother DJs, Noel Hogan (The Cranberries) with Danny O’Reilly (The Coronas), Picture This, Sorcha Richardson, Soulé, The Academic, The Blizzards, The Coronas and The Stunning.

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Getting ready for my first gig of 2020 it’s called ‘Songs from an Empty Room’ and will be broadcast on @rte2 and @rte2fm next week! I’m extra proud of this one as it’s showcasing the amazing people that work behind the scenes of events in Ireland aaand raising awareness for mental health within the music industry. Finally I’m no longer literally singing to an empty room #SongsFromAnEmptyRoom #WeAreTheSupportAct

A post shared by Fia Moon (@fia_moon) on Jul 14, 2020 at 12:10pm PDT

These acts will be preforming from some of Ireland’s most iconic venues such as; The Olympia Theatre in Dublin, Cyprus Avenue in Cork, Galway’s Roisin Dubh, INEC in Killarney and Dolan’s in Limerick.

Ireland’s €3.5 billion a year live music industry has come to a complete halt during the COVID-19 pandemic, with no clear roadmap of when they can start back up. This has totally left backstage crews with no income. The event will feature footage from behind-the-scenes of the events industry to show how these hard working people, who are often forgotten, have been severely impacted by this pandemic.

Viewers will be able to donate by text and a GoFundMe page during the event, and will be able to purchase branded merchandise. All of these proceeds will go to Minding Creative Minds and the Association of Irish Stage Technicians Hardship Fund.

Viewers in the UK will be able to watch from the RTÉ Player.

Singer-songwriter Gavin James has been named as the headline act for the event, with his latest single ‘Boxes’ shared on 15th May. The song has reached over a million streams, as has the lyric video on YouTube, featuring a cartoon Gavin James sending a positive message to fans. Further acts are soon to be announced.

Set to be held throughout July and August, the drive-in will utilise large spaces to allow adherence to Government and World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines. For each date, there will be a matinee and an evening show, which will run at 4pm and 8pm and situate up to 300 cars. Find the full show dates at the end of this post.

To provide support to all the workers who have come together to make this event happen, attendees will purchase tickets priced at €60 per car. These will go on sale tomorrow, Friday 29th May, at 9am on the official ‘Live at the Drive-In’ website.

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We are delighted to announce a drive in concert tour of Ireland with @gavinjameslive #gavinjames #liveatthedrivein #driveinconcerts #livemusic #irishtour #mpiartists #irishmusicparty #irishmusic #boxes #boxestour

A post shared by Live At The Drive In Ireland (@liveatthedriveintour) on May 26, 2020 at 1:23am PDT

Mick Dolan, promoter of the event, made a statement in which he said “The past few months have been a very difficult time for the music industry. We are facing into a summer period where the traditional festival offering and big gig line-ups just won’t be happening.” He continued, bringing fans the good news, “Limerick deserves something special and something unique to look forward to, so we have teamed up with the local authority to bring the concept of the Drive-In concerts to Limerick.”

As the headline act, Gavin James was asked to choose a charity to donate a portion of the proceeds to; the artist chose the Down Syndrome Centre, which provides support to families and carers of people with Down syndrome.

Full Tour Dates:

24/07/2020 – The Greenpark Site – Limerick, Ireland
31/07 – Showgrounds – Cork, Ireland
07/08 – Tramore Promenade – Waterford, Ireland
10/08 – Gowran Racecourse – Kilkenny, Ireland