Sussex community music group celebrates record £5,500 donation to St Peter & St James Hospice after Crawley gig

Band of Dads CIC, also known as BOD, presented £5,500 to the Sussex-based St Peter & St James Hospice following months of gigs and fundraising.

The band, which promotes good mental health through music across Mid and West Sussex, said a major part of the total came from Party With A Purpose Live.

BOD’s summer music event took place at The Brewery Shades in High Street, Crawley, on August 1 and raised £3,677.

A BOD spokesperson said: “£5,500 is a huge amount for us and we’re incredibly proud of what everyone has helped us achieve.

“On the face of it, we’re a bunch of people making a racket in pubs and living out our midlife crises in public. But underneath all the silliness there is a very genuine reason why we do it.

“Every venue that gives us a stage, every business that backs an event and every person who buys a ticket, enters a raffle, puts money in a bucket or simply comes along and supports us has played a part. That £5,500 isn’t really ours. It belongs to everyone who helped make it happen.”

BOD members had hoped to return to The Brewery Shades to make the cheque presentation there, but the pub was closed for maintenance on the day. So BOD said the presentation went ahead ‘elsewhere in Crawley’. BOD said the £5,500 is its first donation since Christmas and marks another milestone for a group.

A BOD spokesperson said: “Not every BOD member was able to attend in person either. In suitably sensible Band of Dads fashion, those who couldn’t make it were represented by photographs attached to sticks, ensuring they still made the group photo.

“Band of Dads thanked Nicki at The Brewery Shades for hosting Party With A Purpose Live, along with the event sponsors, the many pubs and venues that continue to give the bands somewhere to perform, and the audiences who turn up week after week.”

The music collective, which combines live tunes, friendship and community fundraising, is entirely volunteer-run. It raises money for Sussex causes by putting on high-energy live gigs. Everyone is welcome to perform, including mothers and non-parents. The group was founded in 2016 and now operates across multiple bands with a ‘deliberately informal’ aproach.

Its next major event will be BODFEST 2026, which is set to take place on Saturday, November 21, at Warden Park Academy in Cuckfield, to mark BOD’s 10th anniversary. This BOD-organised mini festival will be held in partnership with Sussex Cancer Fund and Warden Park School. BOD 3rd Chapter is set to make its debut performance at BODFEST and all three BOD bands will perform during the event. They will be joined by two bands from Warden Park School. There will be seven hours of live music, as well as a bar, food and a raffle. People interested in attending can follow Band of Dads on Facebook, where tickets and further BODFEST announcements will be released. Visit www.facebook.com/bandofdads.

Visit www.bandofdads.co.uk.