Preston musician Connor Banks stays at home to raise cash for Wigan and Leigh Hospice

Frustrated at not being able to get out and play gigs, Connor Banks wanted to share his music to keep up to speed and entertain people during the coronavirus lockdown.

He also wanted to raise money for Wigan and Leigh Hospice, a place close to his family’s heart.

The 17-year-old said: “I’d normally be gigging at weekends so this is my way of doing that.

“I play guitar and keyboards and I sing. Some of the music is my own material but I’ve also been doing requests. It’s all done from the music room in my house.”

Since starting the Facebook live streaming two weeks ago, Connor has done four online gigs and had £670 donated to hospice funds.

One donation came from a man celebrating his 50th birthday but unable to go out.

He simply came up with some requests, bought some beers and then donated the £100 he would have spent on a party.

Connor, from Brook Lane in Much Hoole, said: “The response has been really great and I’m really pleased to be able to help the hospice.

“My granddad went there for outpatient treatment and he and my nan joined the ukele group there.

It was a straightforward decision about who to raise money for because I know the hospice does not get public funding.”

Studying songwriting at BIMM in Manchester, Connor has ambitions to pursue a career in music.

is songwriting skills are being honed and there is a business element to the course so he’ll be equipped for dealing with contracts if the opportunity arises.

Despite being keen to showcase his own material, he knows there is no substitute for pleasing the crowd. That’s why covers of Ed Sheeran and Oasis feature regularly on his live stream. It seems to be working; his Facebook page has 3,000 followers and rising.

Search @ConnorBanksMusic to listen in.