Hive Aid / Eşya @ The House of Rapture

David Addison once famously posited, do bees bee? I really hope so, and I really hope they keep bee-ing, but the humble Honey Bee, arguably the most industrious and important creature on our planet, is in serious trouble. A combination of habitat loss, pesticide usage and climate change have seen a dramatic drop in numbers of our honey-making chums, something that we should all be concerned about as, without these amazing, pollinating, waggle-dancing insects us humans would be in deep doo-doo.

Thankfully there is still time to help our little buzzing benefactors and, to highlight their importance, the work they do and how we can give them a helping hand, the fine folks at Portsmouth's Staggeringly Good Brewery are hosting a festival this weekend to celebrate all things bee and raise money to support new hives in the area. In addition to beer (obviously) and honey-based food there will also be presentations from bee experts and, yes, live music.

Hive Aid, and yes I see what they did there, starts this Friday, 21st June, with a performance by Eşya, the solo project of Savage's bass player Ayşe Hassan, at The House of Rapture. Eşya's intoxicating blend of delicate, slightly troubling vocals and persistent beats produce songs laden with foreboding.



Support on the night comes from Hyperstition Duo, ex of the late lamented Sheffield band Blood Sport (whose set at Drift a few years back still burns bright in my memory), and London-based trio Mohit.



Entrance to Friday night's gig is £5 (or free if you pre-order Eşya's EP from Pie & Vinyl).

Hive Aid continues across the weekend with live music throughout; unfortunately details of Saturday's line-up are not available at time of writing but Sunday's session is notable for featuring acts from the Ready To Rock School collective; Luca & Madison, Electric Milk, Glass Cage, Charlotte Neal & Markus Smith will all be performing and entry is FREE!