Sam Smith is set to join more than 40 international artists in a virtual event next week, fundraising to fight food poverty and help musicians.

The singer-songerwriter, whose singing coach was musician Joanna Eden, studied at Saffron Walden County High School.

Tickets are now on sale for the charity festival Music Feeds, which has been organised by ethical retailer Co-op and Everybody Belongs Here, the promoter working to do good in the entertainment industry.

The event will run on Thursday January 28 and Friday January 29 from 8pm, with the £15 ticket giving access to both nights.

As part of Music Feeds, Co-op will donate a total of £1m. Of this sum, 70 percent will go to FareShare to fight food poverty, by providing around 2.5 million meals. The donation will also help two music industry causes, Help Musicians and Stagehand, who care for musicians and live production workers during times of crisis. All net profits from ticket sales will be split among the three charities.

Jo Whitfield, CEO of Co-op Food, said: “All year round, Co-op works to tackle food hunger and we’re thrilled to be uniting with outstanding musicians from across the world to turn up the volume on the issue.

“The pandemic has brought a sharper focus on issues such as food poverty and many in the music industry have seen their livelihoods disappear overnight because of lockdown restrictions.”

Music industry veteran, and James band member, Saul Davies, is the creative powerhouse behind Music Feeds.

He said: “At Music Feeds you’ll get never-seen performances from leading artists, uncover new bands, and get up-close and personal with interviews.

“The festival will be broadcast to your Smart TV and devices, and festival goers can even join the sofa mosh-pit via the simultaneous Twitter listening party.”

He added: “If you want to take positive action to end hunger, buy a ticket for yourself, buy one for a friend or donate one to charity, but please help by buying a ticket at MusicFeeds.org.”

Tickets are available now at DICE.fm. More information about the festival is available on MusicFeeds.org.