This Friday, semi-local band DoveTales will be playing a special gig at The Eagle Inn, in Salford, all for the benefit of the charity, Forever Manchester. 

DoveTales are formed of Johnny Evans, Stef Rose, Chris Joyce and Victor Freeman, a group of people joined by a love for music and Indian food. 

Hulme native Victor Freeman spoke to Salford Now about Friday’s gig, and why they decided to do it for charity.  

“It aligns with who we are, and the way things are at the moment, with things like community services being underfunded and austerity, we’re just doing our bit really.” 

“I think it was Chris Joyce, our drummer, who first suggested it. We decided we could use our profile for good. We’ve already spoken about doing more gigs like this in the future.” 

As Victor said, playing charity gigs is something the band want to explore more in future. 

“I work closely with the Elisha House Recovery Community in Colne, near Burnley. They aren’t funded so we’ve spoken to them about doing something in the future, a benefit gig maybe.” 

From left to right, Stef, Victor, Johnny, Chris (Paul Husband Photography)

DoveTales drummer, Chris Joyce is also from Manchester and the gig at Salford’s The Eagle Inn will be treated as a sort of homecoming for the band, who have a strong following in the city. 

“I can’t speak for the others, but we have a good following here, so we always look forward to it. This time of year as well, should make it a bit special. The band just love playing together we all get on so well.” 

The band are no strangers to The Eagle inn, having played there before, and their love of the venue is one of the reasons they chose to hold the gig in Salford. As well as the venue reminding Freeman of old pubs he used to frequent in Hulme. 

It’s a great venue, it has a really unique performance space. We just love the old features, it can be magical, there’s always strong vibes in the room. The staff are all great and look after us as well.” 

“I grew up around pubs in Hulme that used to be full of old Jamaicans with homemade sound systems, a real hybrid culture. The Eagle is a bit like that.” 

DoveTales play at The Eagle Inn in Salford on Friday the 6th of December, at 19-30. 

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