Singer addresses 'housing crisis' in Cornwall at Boardmasters
Sam Richardson's song 'Losing Heart' talks about his struggle to find his own home in St Agnes
Last updated 14th Aug 2022
A St Agnes' singer appearing at this year's Boardmasters Festival has opened up at about his new song to address Cornwall's housing crisis.
Sam Richardson, 27, currently lives in a converted garage with his girlfriend, after struggling to get on the housing ladder in his home village.
The singer says he penned 'Losing Heart' to talk about the issues he has faced in St Agnes.
Sam told us: "This is something that affects people of all ages. There's just no option to be able to afford anything and it is the same with people that have lived in the village for generations.
"They can trace back their heritage from St Agnes and are now having to leave because they can't afford to live here anymore".
The singer has performed at Boardmasters in previous years, opening the Main Stage with his band in 2021 for the first festival after the pandemic.
Speaking ahead of the 2022 festival, Sam said: "I think it is important to play it to everybody, we're definitely going to play it at Boardmasters.
"There's a big demographic of young people there who are probably going to relate to it.
"We've also been playing it at places like Rock Oyster festival where it's more mixed.
"There's so few properties to rent in the place I grew up and across all of Cornwall and in fact beyond Cornwall, there's a lot of people who've suffered from this problem.
"Most of the people I grew up with have had to leave. It's an uphill struggle".
Sam Richardson and the Renegades were due to perform at the festival on the View Stage on Sunday, ahead of headliners Kings of Leon, Tom Grennan and De La Soul.
You can listen to Sam's full song 'Losing Heart' here.