Jacob Reddy Finishes His ‘51 Cities in 22 Days’ Busking Tour
We’re incredibly proud of sixteen-year-old Jacob Reddy, who has just finished his epic #BuskingForDerian ‘All 51 Cities in 22 Days’ busking tour of England. We’re excited to have him join us at BIMM Institute Manchester in September for our two-year Diploma course.
#BuskingForDerian
Jacob put his three-week summer break to good use by raising money for Derian House Children’s Hospice in Chorley. The hospice helps children and young people with life-limiting or life-shortening conditions. His brother Joseph spent some time at the hospice before sadly passing away just before his third birthday. Jacob set out to fundraise for Derian House in Joseph’s memory.
The charity relies on fundraising for 88% of the £2 million per year they need to operate, but Covid has caused a decline in fundraising. Jacob spent weeks leading up to the tour busking in his hometown of Blackburn to raise money for accommodation costs, which Property Shop Estate Agents then matched. This meant that every single penny made on tour could go to Derian House.
His dad, Anthony, who acts as Jacobs’ taxi driver, tour manager, media rep, promoter and navigator, has been accompanying Jacob on his tour. Anthony said: “It’s been very tiring but incredibly rewarding.”
The tour drew to a close on Saturday 21st August in Salford and Manchester. However, instead of going home, a shattered Jacob had tickets to see his idol Frank Turner at the Manchester Apollo.
Jacob’s Tour Highlights
Some of Jacob’s tour highlights include:
- Jackmaate and co-host Stevie White – who inspired the tour with their £10,000 Golden Ticket adventure – turned up to see Jacob in their hometown of Norwich. They featured him on their Instagram and chatted with him for 20 minutes.
- His musical hero Frank Turner tweeted to support the tour.
- TV coverage from Anglia TV featured the tour as part of their local reporting whilst Jacob was in Norwich, Ely and Cambridge.
- Global Radio (who host Capital, Heart and Smooth FM) turned up on the opening day (outside the Derian House shop in Preston) to interview Jacob and record him playing a few songs.
- BBC Radio Lancashire, BBC Radio York, BBC Radio Gloucestershire, BBC Radio Cumbria and BBC Radio Cornwall interviewed Jacob along the way.
- ‘Spotted In Ely’, a local Facebook group, live-streamed his entire set.
We are so proud of Jacob and really excited to have him join us in September. You can donate to Jacob’s Just Giving page here. You can also see highlights from Jacob’s tour on his Instagram here.
