WESTBURY musician Leander Morales is attempting to perform in both Westbury, Wiltshire and Westbury, New York on the same day.
In a bid to strengthen connections between the two towns, Leander will be performing on both sides of the Atlantic on Sunday 28th September as part of the Westbury Music & Arts Festival.
Inspired by Phil Collins’ Live Aid 1985 performances in Philadelphia and London, Leander will be flying economy class between the two towns on different continents to perform The Cross Atlantic Live Sessions. He will perform just after midnight on Saturday in New York (5.00am Sunday UK time), before chasing the clock to perform at The Laverton in Wiltshire – 3,500 miles away – at 10.30pm on Sunday night.
Westbury, NY is a village in Nassau County on Long Island. It was named after the Wiltshire town by Henry Willis, who left to settle there almost 350 years ago.
Westbury UK’s Laverton will also host performances from local artists Lauren Medway, Andy Hill & Lee Walford, Phil Cooper, and Kirsty Clinch. The team has hopes of setting up a live internet stream between the UK and USA so both performances can be seen on both sides.
Leander said, “I’m really excited about this. I’m looking forward to performing in Westbury, New York, and I love the idea of this event being part of The Westbury Music and Arts Festival UK. It’s not every day this kind of thing happens and it will be bit of an adventure. I do like to be optimistic but anything could happen and there are so many logistics, from time and travel to technical arrangements. However, I do know for sure that the assembled team and I will work to our best ability to pull this off.”
Leander has had support from The Westbury Music & Arts Festival, as well as Wilsons Residential, Xylo-bands, plus support from other local businesses in Westbury (UK).
He said, “Cllr Ian Cunningham was very supportive and, I think, very excited about the project. He booked the flight on his own account just to get the ball rolling!”
The English leg of the show will take place at the Laverton in Westbury from 7.30pm to 11.00pm on Sunday 28th September. Tickets will be £7 in advance or £10 on the door. Proceeds will go towards funding the future of the Westbury Music and Arts Festival.
To find out more visit www.wmafestival.co.uk.
