BBC Radio 6 Music will celebrate 10 years of Independent Venue Week, with Steve Lamacq taking his tour bus around the UK for a series of special shows, featuring performances in independent venues from Sprints, Grove, Young Fathers, The Murder Capital and Suede.
Independent venue week is the the UK’s annual seven-day celebration of independent music and arts venues and the people that own, run and work in them and will run from Monday 30 January and Friday 3 February.
The tour will see Steve Lamaq broadcasting from a different venue in a UK town or city each day: –Ramsgate Music Hall (Monday 30 January), Hare and Hounds in Birmingham (Tuesday 31January), Norwich Arts Centre (Wednesday 1February), KU Stockton (Thursday 2 February) and Stereo in Glasgow (Friday 3 February). All of the artists will join Steve in conversation before performing at each of these venues.
Steve Lamacq says: “Independent Venue Week has always played a vital role in helping grassroots venues at a financially perilous time of year. But it’s even more essential now, as venues try and bounce back from the COVID lockdowns and cope with the pressures of the current cost of living situation. But it’s also a great time to get out and see some new and emerging artists before they hit the summer festival stages. There’s a terrific variety of music on offer.“
“We’ve also lined up some of our own favourite new and established acts for a week of gigs in small independent venues around the country and will be touring the UK, presenting the BBC Radio 6 Music radio show from a different location every day.”
Samantha Moy, Head of BBC Radio 6 Music, says: “So many of 6 Music’s favourite emerging and established artists started out performing in small independent venues across the UK. In a post-pandemic music industry, it’s never been more important to support these venues and showcase the vital role and space they provide for musicians and fans alike. I’m incredibly proud that Lammo is on the road for a week, across the UK, shining a light on such an integral part of our music eco-system.”
Each set will also open with short gigs from BBC Music Introducing artists. A track from each of these supporting artists’ sets will be played out during Steve’s show the following day.
The Shows will run as follows:
On Monday 30th January, Steve will kick off the week with Irish garage punk band Sprints before they take to the stage at Ramsgate Music Hall for a show that evening. Steve will also round up tracks from some of the very best Independent Venue Week gigs.
On Tuesday 31st January, Steve’s guest will be Bristol-based producer, vocalist and DJ Grove, who will join him before their set at Hare and Hounds in Birmingham that evening. Steve will also play some of Sprints’ performance at Ramsgate Music Hall from the previous evening.
Wednesday 1 February will see Steve welcome Scottish art pop trio and ambassadors Young Fathers to the show as they prepare for their first live show in four years at Norwich Arts Centre in Norfolk. Steve will also play a recording of Grove from Tuesday night’s set at the Hare and Hounds while Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth from Norwich band Let’s Eat Grandma takes listeners on a tour of Norwich.
On Thursday 2 February, Steve is joined by Irish post-punk band The Murder Capital before their set at KU Stockton in North Yorkshire that evening. Steve will chat to the band ahead of their performance, and listeners will be treated to a tour of Stockton from Kingsley Hall, frontman of Stockton punk band Benefits. Plus, Steve looks back to the previous night’s performance, with highlights from Young Fathers’ set.
On Friday 4 February, Suede will perform live on 6 Music as Steve arrives at Stereo in Glasgow. There’ll also be a tour around the city from Stina Tweeddale from Honeyblood. Steve will welcome BBC Music Introducing presenters Phoebe Inglis-Holmes and Shereen Cutkelvin (BBC Radio Scotland to chat about Glasgow’s live music. Plus there’ll be a final recorded-live track played from The Murder Capital
Steve will also be providing listeners with gig guides to other Independent Venue Week concerts happening in the UK across the week.
All programmes will be available to listen to live on BBC Sounds and for 30 days after their broadcast on BBC Radio 6 Music.
Independent Venue Week will also be celebrated across BBC Radio 6 Music. Chris Hawkins (weekdays, 5-7.30am) will host weekly MySpace audio tours of venues across the UK in the run-up to Independent Venue Week and on Craig Charles’s show (weekdays, 1-4pm), there will be takeovers of Craig’s usual daily features from five eclectic independent venues across the week.
The 2023 Ambassadors celebrating Independent Venue Week’s 10th Anniversary are Radiohead’s Philip Selway, beabadoobee, Young Fathers (Scotland) and Adwaith (Wales). Philp Selway spoke to Steve Lemacq of the vital importance of Independent Venue Week and how it was like a full circle for Radiohead as his bandmate Colin Greenwood had been named as the very first Independent Venue Week ambassador ten years ago. Selway will be playing at Independent venues across the country together with a huge array of other artists full details of all Independent Week Shows can be found here:
Upcoming Events – Independent Venue Week UK
