August 2024 Charlotte Badham performing at Crediton Memory Cafe. Photographer Sophie Dunn.
Live Music Now is delighted to announce funding from The National Lottery Awards for All to support our Musical Memory Café programme in Devon. The £20,000 grant, awarded over two years, will enable us to continue bringing high-quality, interactive music sessions to people living with dementia and their carers across the region.
Since launching in 2023, the Musical Memory Café project has reached communities in towns including Exmouth, Teignmouth, Tavistock and Ottery St Mary. Sessions are designed to promote connection, joy and wellbeing through live music, with Live Music Now musicians creating a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere where participants are encouraged to sing, move and engage in the moment.
For the 2024-25 programme we delivered 45 concerts across 8 memory cafes and community day centres. These sessions delivered powerful emotional and social outcomes, with 95% of participants smiling or laughing, 90% singing, and 70% engaging in conversation—prompting one attendee to say, “I feel alive.” Carers also reported improved mood, connection, and reduced stress, with staff noting that even those who “don’t usually engage came alive,” highlighting live music as a vital and transformative tool in dementia care.
Café organisers also described the sessions as “cheering everybody up” and praised the musicians for their warmth and ability to tailor each performance to the group.
April 2024 Charlotte Badham performing at Totnes Caring Memory Cafe. Photographer Cliff Smith.
“They felt connected with their loved ones as they shared a dance together, which isn’t something that they would usually do. Caring is made easier when the person living with dementia is happy and stimulated.”
— Mary Garvey, Dementia Services Coordinator, Totnes Caring Memory Café
The National Lottery grant will support the continued delivery and development of the project in Devon over the next two years. The work forms part of Live Music Now’s wider Music in Health programme, which brings the benefits of live music to care homes, hospitals, and community venues across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
For more about our work with older people, https://www.livemusicnow.org.uk/our-work/
