From the Garden Shed to Giving Back: Andrew Gent’s Music for Reverse Rett
Musician, Andrew Gent has a real passion for music and is a true talent himself.
He recently recorded a bunch of songs that he’d written over the past few years and decided to release them, in support of the charity his next door neighbours founded.
Andrew says, “Andy, Rachael and their family — pets included — moved in next door a few years back.
As a family, we were a bit wary at first, wondering what sort of new neighbours we’d end up with. Would they be oddballs? A bit strange? Maybe a touch unusual in their habits? Well… I can safely say they’ve lived up to our worst fears.
But jokes aside, they’ve turned out to be the perfect neighbours for us — probably because we’re a bit odd ourselves. We’ve found we’ve a lot in common: very family-minded, always putting our loved ones first, and even sharing the same taste in music and books. The only real divide is football: I support the mighty Manchester United, while Andy supports the second-best team on Merseyside — Liverpool.
What I’ve seen, though, day in and day out, is Andy, Rachael, and the whole family working incredibly hard for the sake of their children and for the families they support. And I wanted to help them in some small, positive way if I could.
Now, I’m not as fit as Andy or Rachael, and I didn’t fancy running three marathons uphill in my underpants for the “crack,” so instead I decided to dust off the songs I’ve written over the years on my guitar in the shed. With a bit of help from AI, I’ve added some colour to them, and thought it would be a nice idea to hand them over to Reverse Rett.
Hopefully together we can raise a bit of awareness and maybe even some funds along the way. Every penny raised will go straight to Reverse Rett.”
Andy Stevenson says, “Andrew, Vicky and the kids have been wonderful neighbours since we moved to Ramsbottom and we’ve become close friends. He’s introduced me to some amazing music, not least his own.
We were quite emotional when he came up with this idea, it’s a wonderful way to raise awareness for Rett syndrome and the work of Reverse Rett and we can’t thank him enough.
It goes to show that there are lots of different and creative ways to make a difference. I can also guarantee that Andrew’s running talent far surpasses my musical abilities.”
Rett syndrome is a devastating condition and has no positive side other than the people you meet and who decide to help you on the journey”.
Andrew Gent’s album, Days, Months, Years is OUT NOW on Apple Music, Spotify and iTunes HERE