#saveourvenues: Music Venue Trust and the fight for grassroots music

On the 17^th of March 2020, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that the government would do “whatever it takes” to save businesses in the United Kingdom, including those in the hospitality sector. Yet, almost two years on from that announcement, grassroots music venue industry has been described as on the “brink of collapse”. How has it come to this?

In two years of short straws handed out to hospitality in the UK live music venues have received some of the shortest. As with other parts of hospitality sector, many venues initially survived through grants and furlough schemes. But as the pandemic rolled on, and financial support started to be rolled back, music venues were some of the last parts of society to ‘reopen’. As public fears grow, footfall reduces, and mixed messaging from the government towards the end of 2021 led to further uncertainty in the sector.

Yet, all hope is not lost. In April 2020, Music Venue Trust (MVT) set up the #saveourvenues campaign to follow on from their Grassroots Music Venues Crisis fund in March, which had already raised over £180,000. The aim itself was simple: to provide support, and help to save, the over 500 grassroots music venues at risk of closure in the UK. As of December 2020, the project had raised over £3.8 million and had been able to support 920 Music Venue Alliance members in 2020.

Projects such as these are not only crucial for the venues themselves, but also for musicians and the wider community. Music venues are a hub in communities, where art, friendships, identities, and culture can thrive and grow. Take the Brudenell Social Club in Hyde Park, for example. It is a music venue, and it is so much more, a reference point for countless residents and students of Leeds. Without grassroots venues, we are weaker as a community and as a city which prides itself in musical excellence

Expanding on #saveourvenues, MVT, alongside financial backing from the National Lottery, have commissioned a serious of one-off live shows in grassroots music venues across the UK dubbed ‘Revive Live’. With wide-ranging artists such as Tom Jones, Sam Fender, and Fontaines D.C. on the bill, MVT are hoping to reinvigorate the live music industry by “supporting artists and crews to get out playing Grassroots Music Venues in front of audiences… back where they are meant to be!” Revive Live is doing exactly that, encouraging audiences back to venues after two years of uncertainty, when their support is more crucial than ever.

How do you support these initiatives? Well, firstly you can donate directly to MVT here, or to the #saveourvenues campaign here. These projects are essential to our communities and need as much public backing as they can get, considering the lack of it from the powers that be (remember when Sunak claimed being a musician wasn’t a ‘viable job’?).

But more importantly, go out and see live music in Leeds and beyond. Find something on at Brudenell, Belgrave Music Hall, Headrow House and wherever else, and get yourself a ticket. In return, you get to experience live music and superb grassroots music venues at an affordable price. Seems like a fair trade to me, and one you won’t regret.