After impressive growth in only its second year, Independent Venue Week has already become a firm date in the music calendar and plans are already underway for their third year.
Supported by funding from the Arts Council of England, IVW is a week-long celebration of the sector, bringing together 120 indie venues from January 25-31. The project grew from 17 participating venues in 2014 to 91 in 2015 when 33,000 gig goers all across the UK passed through the doors to enjoy 216 gigs with 820 artists performing – two thirds of the shows sold out. Plans for 2016 will see that increase more modestly to 120 with the emphasis being on more tours and bigger artists playing smaller venues as well as supporting local artists.
However, the plight of the UK’s grassroots live circuit hovers over the event, with many venues facing closure or threats from redevelopment. Recently, venues such as Belfast’s Mandela Hall and the Owl Sanctuary in Norwich are just two venues which have become threatened. Of the 430 music venues trading in London in 2007, only 245 still remain and campaigners are calling for an Agent of Change principle to be introduced, which would put the onus on developers to mitigate potential conflicts between long-standing live venues and new developments.
IVW founder Sybil Bell is also a consultant to the Music Venues Trust, launched in 2014 to help safeguard the future of the circuit.
Speaking to Music Week, Bell stressed that the main purpose of IVW is to celebrate the work of independent venues. “There are other people looking after the campaigning and the lobbying“, she said. “But of course unless some off the issues venues are facing are brought to people’s attention, it will be harder and harder to run Independent Music Week. Now that people can discover new music in so many other ways, there is less inclination to take the chance to go out one night and listen to bands that you’ve never of, or seen, or discovered online. We see ourselves as a consumer-facing initiative and are very much about celebrating and encouraging people to get back down to their local venues.”
Notable shows being held across the UK for IVW include Kris Halpin and Imogen Heap at the Half Moon in Putney, Eagulls at the New Adelphi club in Hull, Dead Dollar Days at the Dublin Castle in London and Edwyn Collins at Hebden Bridge Trades Club.
“I felt that there wasn’t a spotlight being shone on the small live music venues and the grassroots circuit that provides all artists with their first break and a chance to learn their trade“, Bell said. “There was no recognition for the venues that provide somewhere safe and well-run for local communities to go and enjoy live music“.
Wolf Alice have been announced as ambassadors for the event, following in the footsteps of Frank Turner and Radiohead’s Colin Greenwoood. Joel Amey from Wolf Alice said “Our first show together was at the Sebright Arms in Bethnal Green, which put Wolf alice, Swim Deep and Temples on the same bill. Without venues like that, we wouldn’t have been able to reach the standard we wanted to get to as a live band and eventually end up playing venues like the Brixton Academy. It’s good that bands remember where they started and we definitely do.”
Wolf Alice
IVW has secured a number of partnerships with bodies such as the PRS For Music, which is teaming up with Guildford’s The Boilerroom for events and concerts throughout the week including Eliza and the Bear, Grieved and Lisbon.
Other partners include SXSW, which is putting on a showcase with FEMME, Oscar and Avec Sans at the Engine Rooms, Southampton on January 28th. Other partners include the Musicians’ Union, BBC Introducing, Live & Loud, Open Live and Attitude Is Everything.
[Via : Music Week]
Independent Venue Week :
http://www.independentvenueweek.com/
https://www.facebook.com/independentvenueweek/
https://twitter.com/IVW_UK
