Independent Venue Week is a week long celebration of small music venues around the UK and an acknowledgement of all those people who are involved in their running all year round
These venues give artists their first experience of playing live in front of an audience and for fans, somewhere to get up close to artists that one day, may well be playing stadiums and festival main stages.
Supported using public funding by Arts Council England, Independent Venue Week brings together these venues along with breaking and established artists, promoters, labels, media, bloggers and tastemakers to create a nationwide series of gigs at the end of January.
These venues are the backbone of the live music scene in this country and Independent Venue Week wants to recognise all that they have done to create some of the most memorable nights of the past so they can continue to do the same in the future.
The official venues stretch from Aberdeen’s The Moorings in the North to the Tiki Bar in Plymouth in the South West, and Belfast’s The Limelight 2 and Oh Yeah Centre in Northern Ireland to Norwich Arts Centre in the East of England. A grand total of 87 venues are taking part in Independent Venue Week.
Some of the highlights that will be taking place during Independent Venue Week include The Yardbirds playing the last ever show at Oxford Street’s The 100 Club; Laura Marling doing four intimate shows across the UK to mark the release of her fifth album; The Leadmill in Sheffield presenting Peace at the city’s Queens Social Club and Domino Records present Clinic at The Half Moon Putney on Saturday 31st January…
All of the information about who will be playing where and when and ticket prices (most of which are less than £10) can be found here
“Without small, independent venues, there’d be no small, independent bands, and without them there’d be no big acts either; these places are the lifeblood of any music scene, and any music fan should care about them and support Independent Venue Week”
Follow Frank Turner’s lead and get yourself out to a show at one of these venues next week.
