Music that lights people up.
Warm, personal live music brought right to people in care — generating smiles, energising the room, and making real connections. A proven track record, one visit at a time.
People come alive when the music starts.
Faces light up, hands reach out, and the whole room shifts. That moment is the whole point — and it happens again and again.
What a session actually does
Not a background playlist — a live, responsive musician who reads the room, takes requests, and meets each person where they are.
Smiles, every single time
The most common feedback is the simplest: great enjoyment and real fun. Smiles arrive fast and they’re genuine — the kind that spread across a room.
Rooms that come alive
Toes tap, hands clap, and people who were quiet moments ago are up and moving. The energy lifts — and it lifts the staff and families in the room too.
Joy and real enthusiasm
Laughter, singing along, requests called out. Music reaches past the day’s difficulties to the person underneath — and brings joy back to the surface.
Connection that lasts
Eye contact, a shared song, a memory unlocked. Sessions can be personalised to each person — playing exactly the music known to reach them.
Where the music happens
From a weekly residency in an ‘Outstanding’-rated care home to a hospital arts programme — working both solo and in collaboration, across Oxfordshire and into Coventry & Warwickshire.
See it in motion
Live performance, filmed — from a lockdown livestream to professionally produced films. The spirit of the Music Health Service, in motion.
Live from lockdown
‘Classic Tunes for a Singalong’ — streamed live from my home studio on 30 April 2020, while the UK stayed under strict nationwide stay-at-home restrictions. Music for people who needed it, exactly when they needed it most — one of a series still watched today.
“It’s not a magic bullet, but it’s the closest thing we’ve got.”— my own words, during the first lockdown
As featured in the Oxford MailTim Hughes on the Music Health Service going online in the first lockdown, streaming free into local care homes (March 2020) ↗With Barefooted Arts
Bringing the Outside In
An overview of the Barefooted Arts project I perform and compose for at University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire — live, sensory performance brought to the bedside for children, families and patients on the wards.
Featured on the Arts at UHCW pageI appear in the header and in this overview film, part of the hospital charity’s Healing Arts programme ↗Filmed and produced by Emma Spellman of Oojamaflick, commissioned by Barefooted Arts and shared with the kind permission of copyright holder Lucy Knight. Free to watch on Vimeo and YouTube.
On the wards at University Hospitals Coventry & WarwickshireA short reel filmed by the UHCW official page Watch on Facebook ↗What people say
From care teams, activity coordinators and community services across Oxfordshire.
People just come alive when Ben plays his music. They light up and they engage. It connects people, and I think it has an overall effect on their wellbeing in many ways. They’re the highlight of the week — it’s been amazing.
I always hear nothing but positives, and I know the people we serve take such joy out of the sessions.
Everyone loves Ben’s music sessions!
More references and written testimony available on request.
Bring music to your people
Tell me a little about your setting and what you’re looking for. Single visits, regular residencies and block bookings all welcome.