Nile Rodgers thinks the world needs live music "now more than ever".

The Chic frontman admits he has had a "tough year" but can't wait until he is able to perform shows for fans again as he feels music is about "people coming from all situations" to enjoy the concert together.

Speaking about live music, Nile shared: "What I miss about live music most, honestly, is seeing people. It’s been a tough year for me. My mother died two days after Christmas, and I’ve experienced nothing so numbing before or since. I also live in a country [the US] that is full of division. Music is about people coming together from all situations, positions and philosophies, creating this powerful, unified force. We need that now more than ever.

"I tell you, seeing people from the stage enjoying themselves reassures me that life is good and that people are good. It’s amazing to experience how much love people can have in one place. Forgive me, I’m an old hippy."

And the 68-year-old singer loves how every concert is "uniquely its own thing".

Speaking to The Observer newspaper, he added: "Live music is also about the power of experience ... Every gig is uniquely its own thing. They’re also about being in the middle of a crowd, about interacting with people who are different to you on a political level. We can’t wave a magic wand and get it all back to normal straight away, but we have to hold on for a future where we’re all breathing next to one another, and rubbing up against one another, feeling that joy. It’s a future I want to belong to."