In April 2025 Live Music Now was delighted to receive The National Lottery Awards for All grant to support our Musical Memory Café programme in Devon. The £20,000 grant, awarded over two years, enables us to continue bringing high-quality, interactive music sessions to people living with dementia and their carers across the region.
Photograph by Cliff Smith. Totnes Caring Memory Cafe, 25 April 2024
Over the last 12 months we delivered 36 concerts by Live Music Now musicians, taking music to older people who are unable to attend regular concerts. We worked in partnership with Age UK Exeter, Totnes Caring, Dartmouth Caring, Memory Matters (Plymouth), Age UK Devon, and The Ness Care group, to engage older people in 10 different Memory Cafes, and Dementia Hubs. In total the concerts were attended by 964 participants and 216 staff and volunteers.
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.
We received excellent feedback from participants on the quality of the music, the engagement of the musicians with the audiences and the difference the concerts made to increasing participation and the wellbeing of participants including staff and volunteers as well as the older people. Below is some of the feedback that we have received demonstrating the impact of the concerts:
“One lady said ‘it’s made my whole year!’”
Staff, Plymouth Memory Matters
“When I sang ‘Cornwall my home’ we replaced the word ‘Cornwall’ with the names of the places participants were from. The song opened up a great conversation about home and the things we remember and love… Participants become very emotional and tearful.”
Charlotte Badham at Dartmouth Memory Café
“Kitty was great. Not only with her excellent entertainment but also staying for tea and engaging with those present.”
Staff, Age Concern Crediton
“This always a friendly group but in this session there was much interaction between those present as well as with the musician. Everyone was clearly enjoying the afternoon and even those who are less likely to be engaged were noticeably participating.”
Staff, Age Concern Crediton
Musicians observed positive responses, with 100% of participants smiling, laughing, singing and actively engaging, alongside high levels of reminiscence and conversation.
Staff feedback reinforced this impact, with 100% reporting improved mood, over 90% noting increased engagement, and the majority highlighting improvements in communication. Sessions created shared moments of connection, with “smiles on faces”, participants “singing and laughing together” and individuals encouraged to join in and take an active role.
Café organisers highlighted the sessions as uplifting for the whole group and praised the musicians’ warmth, flexibility, and ability to engage everyone—“encouraging the inner musician in all of us”.
The National Lottery grant will support the continued delivery and development of the project in Devon over the next year. 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, click here.
