“This is not about Ghost Community. This is about the event, the fans and the charities it’s raising money for. There’s your Trinity.”
Matt Cohen takes a deep breath, passion etching his voice. At times he turns our conversation rhapsodic. The Ghost Community bassist who, alongside Touchstone’s Adam Hodgson is co-organiser of Trinity Live is talking to about something very close to his heart and he only stops, momentarily, to catch his breath.
From out of darkness of Christina Booth’s breast cancer diagnosis, came the light of Trinity. When the news of the Magenta vocalist’s illness broke, her band were lined up for a triple band tour with Touchstone and The Reasoning, who Cohen was playing bass with at the time. The tour was on the cusp of being scrapped. But defiantly, Matt and Adam weren’t going to let cancer win that easy. The tour became a charity all-dayer where, with thanks to auction items donated from prog rock royalty – from Yes to Steven Wilson – £9,000 was raised.
Three years later, Trinity returns. Now they wish to build a legacy – one of community and of strength in numbers, uniting to raise awareness for a disease that has inescapably affected us all. And as Cohen reveals, a family spirit is shining through with Trinity:
“We’re all massive fans of Lonely Robot so when John said he was releasing his new album we were desperate for him to play. Kim Seviour is signed to John Mitchell’s label, White Star, so it just felt natural for her to debut her new solo material at Trinity. A Formal Horse are good friends of a friend of mine who recommended them to us. Dec Burke’s in the family too, he’s played with John in Frost*, we’re all connected. I love the fact that we’re all a family; it makes it far more comfortable, enjoyable and honest. This is about everyone working together, it’s far more than just a charity fundraiser; it’s about bringing people together and making something beautiful. In that environment there is nothing more important than what we’re trying to achieve.
“Circumstances just didn’t allow Trinity to happen again until now but this year just fell into place and I’m so glad we’re doing it again. The plan was always to make this a long term thing because it is precious to all of us. We’ve all lost someone, we’ve all known someone who’s been affected and we all know someone who’s survived this horrible disease. So just to get everyone in one room, to catch up and laugh and raise some money is a great thing. We really are one big family.
“The success of 2014 shows the power of what this music scene is. This isn’t about band promotion. You’re donating money to charity and getting to see six bands for free.
“I remember walking through the crowd last time and just wanting to hug everyone. It was such a tiring, beautiful day that by the time I got up on stage I don’t remember a single note. What I do remember, more than anything else, is there were a load of people at the front smiling. It was such a great effort by everyone – the organisers, the bands, the fans, the security guys – we just pulled off something quite magnificent.
“My hope is that people will rally round this as much as they did in 2014. Whoever is there is going to have the time of their lives, I know it. Whatever money is raised is going to benefit some fantastic causes and that is all that anybody ever needs.”
About Trinity Live:
The idea for Trinity Live came about in 2014. It was originally planned as a triple-headliner tour for Magenta, Touchstone and The Reasoning but was rescheduled as a one-day fundraiser when Magenta vocalist Christina Booth was diagnosed with breast cancer. The original event raised £12,000 for Cancer Research UK, Macmillan and Teenage Cancer Trust.
Lonely Robot tops the bill with Touchstone, Ghost Community & more also performing. This year’s event includes a prog auction and an aftershow party at The Zephyr Lounge with a DJ set from Prog Editor Jerry Ewing and a surprise acoustic act being announced nearer the time.
Tickets for Trinity II are available here. More information can be found here.
