It’s always notable when a musician plays two shows in one day. But two shows in one day on two continents? Now that’s impressive.
On Saturday, Sept. 27 Leander Morales, a musician from southern England, will attempt to play a show in Westbury, NY and Westbury, Wiltshire, UK in just 24 hours.
“Two shows in one day is usually no problem, but I haven’t done anything three and a half thousand miles apart,” says Morales.
The event serves to not only connect the two communities but is also a publicity stunt for the Westbury Music and Arts Festival in Wiltshire. Morales has wanted to create a link between the two Westburys for several years, ever since discovering the story of Henry Willis, an English Quaker who named Westbury, NY after his hometown in England. When someone joked to him about playing both locations in 24 hours, he was intrigued.
“I thought it would be great to make some kind of link. I found out it was possible to do, so I thought I could somehow pull together a publicity stunt for the arts festival and a link between the two places,” Morales said.
He originally planned to just live stream the event from a hotel room in Westbury, but then discovered the Greater Westbury Council for the Arts. He called treasurer Michael Kennedy on a whim and explained his idea.
“I was very surprised,” says Kennedy. “Once we determined it was doable I was pretty enthralled by this.”
On Saturday, Sept. 27 at 11:45 p.m., spilling into the early morning of Sept. 28, Morales will play an acoustic show at His and Hers Lounge on Post Avenue. While attendees at His and Hers will be enjoying the show live on Saturday night, people in England can enjoy it over breakfast as it will be live streamed at around 5 a.m. on Sunday morning. Morales will then rush to the airport to catch a flight to London, and is slated to go on stage at the Westbury Music and Arts Festival at 10:30 p.m.
“It’s going to be a bit of a challenge,” said Morales. “We’re hoping for no delays.”
Morales is looking forward to finally making the cultural link between the two communities and the potential of future exchanges.
“I’m excited to let people in Westbury UK and NY become aware of our heritage link and to build foundations to what could be a great thing in the future, with great communication between communities and possible cultural and musical exchanges,” Morales says.
Kennedy says the unique event will provide a deeper historical foundation for Westbury residents and build relationships between the countries.
“This is going to provide deeper roots for residents of Westbury and in the area,” says Kennedy. “The interest in this is going to be intercontinental. We are going to be part of history and focus on establishing a relationship between our country and the UK.”
The music exchange takes place at His and Hers Saturday, Sept. 27 at 11:45 p.m. Admission is free, but there is a one drink minimum. For more information contact Michael Kennedy at is fmkennedy@ rushpost.com
