The ZOOTS are our first post-lockdown live music gig we are delighted that we will be their first ‘Sounds of the Sixties’ show in over 12 months. Like all live music and theatre performers they have missed being on the stage. Hear how the band have kept going through lockdown and are now itching to get back singing – all day and all night!

‘Gigs, live music, audiences, they’re so close to reopening, we can almost taste it. Oh how we’ve missed performing. Growing up sleeping, eating and talking music, only to have it all abruptly halted in March 2020. None of us could have foreseen the scale of this pandemic, and quite how it would affect us all.

We watched in horror as all music venues closed their doors for the unseeable future. We watched in awe as frontline staff worked tirelessly in unthinkable and unmentionable conditions. We silently prayed that each of our family members and our friends would ‘stay safe’. We fell silent when we thought about the lives that Covid took prematurely from so many.

In the grand scheme of Covid, we got it, we understood. Entertainment was now potentially a very dangerous place for people, our fans, venue staff, and The Zoots. Crowds, dancing and singing were no longer safe, for any of us. We got it, there were more important things on the agenda. We didn’t argue. We complied. We did what we could. We stayed indoors, we washed our hands, we helped our neighbours, we clapped on Thursdays, we tried to keep spirits high, we felt hopeless, we felt lost, we felt uncertain.

There was a glimmer of hope as musicians from around the world adapted to embrace online performances and live streaming of music. They brought joy and life into our living rooms. They brought light in a time of great darkness. Musical collaborations which were once thought to be impossible, now happened in this new Covid zoomable world. And for that we are so thankful.

We live streamed, once or twice a week from the newest and hottest venue around, ‘our garage’. We connected with our audience in a way which we never even thought we would have to consider. We felt closer to our silent crowds behind the screen. We felt like we were being helpful with the musical tools we had. We felt brighter.

And now, here we are. Our first performance of 2021 only a couple of weeks away. We have been rehearsing behind closed, sanitised doors. We have polished our repertoire, we have gained a new band member. We learnt songs. We’ve forgotten songs. We’ve grown beards. Harriet is threatening to shave hers for our show at The Palace Theatre, Paignton.

It’s been 2 years since our last show at Paignton. This will be our first ‘Sounds of the 60s’ show since March 2020 and we CANNOT WAIT! We are looking forward to seeing all of you in real life. We have excited butterflies in our tummies as we think about being together again performing on stage, The Zoots back together again. I know for so many of you this will be the first live music event you have attended since Covid hit, and we thank you! We thank you for your continued support and we thank you for the love and warmth you have shown us during one of the most challenging years the music industry, and the world has ever experienced.’

The Palace Theatre Paignton