On February 13, 2016, shortly after releasing their debut self titled album, British indie rockers Viola Beach were tragically killed.
Accompanied by their manager, all four band members including vocalist Kris Leonard, guitarist River Reeves, drummer Jack Dakin, and bassist Thomas Lowe died after their car plunged off of a bridge and into the water below while on their way back from playing a festival in Sweden.
Leaving a huge impact on both their fans and musicians around the world, many hailed Viola Beach as rising stars, who could have dominated the indie rock world had they not passed.
And now, five years later, a group of musicians from the band’s hometown of Warrington are doing their part to keep Viola Beach’s legacy alive with a cover of their debut single “Swings & Waterslides.”
A group consisting of musicians Joe Banks (The A.V Club), Lucy Bell, Jamie Boyle (The K’s), Ed Dowling (The Zangwills), Nathan Greenfield (Aligners), Liam Hillyer, Jessica Luise, Calan Nickle (Sienne), Chris Peake (Filthy Tricks), Olly Thornton (Uno Mas), Amy Woodall (Crawlers) and Cal Bate, Warrington Music debuted the new single yesterday morning alongside a full recording of each of them singing/playing instruments mixed into a COVID-friendly music video.
A beautiful tribute to a band that was taken from the world far too soon, the group also announced that all proceeds from streams and purchases of the track will be donated to charities of Viola Beach’s family members choosing.
You can listen to the cover track now, wherever you stream music, and check out the full video above.
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