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Weekly Music News – W/C 30/11/2020

FIVE4FIVE Fest announces return with stunning lineup

Five4Five Fest Lineup announcement

Following a highly successful debut in May, the charity festival Five4Five Fest has announced its return. The May event saw the likes of Enter Shikari, Don Broco and Deaf Havana raising money for the NHS Charities Together.

Now, the two day event is set to return on 18th & 19th December. This time around the event will be raising money for the #SaveOurVenues campaign by the Music Venue Trust. To learn why the campaign is so important for the future of live music, you can read our recent blog Why We Need To #SaveOurVenues.

The lineup has been announced for the event and will see headline performances from Yonaka and Holding Absence plus the likes of Normandie, Nova Twins and Haggard Cat. More details on the event can be found at five4fivefest.com.

110 Above Festival Announce 2021 Lineup

110 Above Lineup Announcement

Another festival announcing their lineup this week is Leicestershire event 110 Above. Featuring headline performances from Sports Team, The Amazons and Sundara Karma, this promises to be a very special weekend.

Joining the lineup over 12-15th August 2021 are Yonaka, Vistas, The Snuts, Zuzu, Paris Youth Foundation, Lauran Hibberd and more. If you want to celebrate the return of live music with 110 Above, tickets are available here.

BST Hyde Park add Duran Duran

Duran Duran to headline BST Hyde Park

Our third and final festival lineup announcement this week comes from British Summer Time in Hyde Park. BST this week revealed that Duran Duran will headline Sunday 11th July 2021 with special guests Nile Rodgers & Chic plus Grace Jones. Tickets are available here.

Metallica unveil 2nd edition of Monopoly board game

Metallica Monopoly anyone?

If you are still looking for Christmas present ideas, look no further! Metallica have unveiled their 2nd edition of the board game Monopoly. Pick yours up here.

Greta Van Fleet announce new album and single

Greta Van Fleet – ‘Age of Machine’

Greta Van Fleet are back with their new single ‘Age of Machine’ ahead of the release of their newly announced album ‘The Battle at Garden’s Gate’ on 16th April 2021.

Independent Venue Week is back

Independent Venue Week returns in 2021

As we discuss in our blog Why We Need To #SaveOurVenues, our independent venues require our support. The always brilliant Independent Venue Week returns in 2021 from 25th – 31st January to help raise awareness. For more information visit independentvenueweek.com.

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Why We Need To #SaveOurVenues

#SaveOurVenues Crowdfunder: click here to donate

If you read my last blog ‘Mental Health, Music and Me’ then you know that I place a great deal of dependence on music, and in particular live music. The live entertainment industry provides a release to millions of people.

There is a famous song that says…

Workin’ 9 to 5
What a way to make a livin’
Barely gettin’ by
It’s all takin’ and no givin’

They just use your mind
And they never give you credit
It’s enough to drive you
Crazy if you let it

Dolly Parton

…and she’s right. Life is tough and we all need something to distract us, or we will go crazy. For some it’s a hobby, for many it is supporting a sporting team and for millions of people its live music.

The coronavirus pandemic has affected every person and every industry in varying ways. For the live music industry it has had disastrous consequences. For the vast majority of people employed in this industry there is no option to work from home and little financial support. Whilst some may qualify for furlough, a large group of freelancers and zero hour workers have been forgotten. People are having to change career in order to be able to live and this opens the very real possibility that if/when venues reopen they won’t have the staff to operate.

You may think that is an exaggeration, but consider the specialist skills required to operate the various technical requirements for a live show. It’s the invisible crew behind the scenes that make the shows happen and these skilled workers will be hard to replace. You can find out more by heading to www.wemakeevents.com.

This alone is a major threat to the future of an industry that contributed £5.2 billion to the UK economy in 2018. Sadly even that concern may be irrelevant however, if there are no venues left to host events. Yes, you are right, large venues like the O2 Arena in London are unlikely to disappear, but huge arenas are the tip of the iceberg. The live music industry is cultivated by its grassroots venues.

These largely independent venues provide the foundations of the live industry. If these foundations are rocked hard enough, for long enough, then the whole house will come down. The sad reality is that many of these venues were facing significant challenges prior to the pandemic. That’s why the Music Venue Trust had to be founded in 2014 to support and champion these venues.

Since the first national lockdown took hold, the Music Venue Trust has put in a superhuman effort to help to save these venues. The Music Venue Trust has launched the #SaveOurVenues campaign and they have been at the forefront of fundraising efforts to help to protect our grassroots infrastructure. Well over 500 venues have been recognised as under threat since April, and there are presently 30 venues on the trusts ‘Red List’. Part of a traffic light rating system for venues, ‘Red List’ venues are regarded as at imminent danger of permanent closure.

You can help #SaveOurVenues by donating to the trusts current fundraiser (www.crowdfunder.co.uk/save-our-venues-red-list).

Here you can donate either to an individual venue or the overall campaign. These venues need our help, and if we want to be able to head straight to a gig when safe to do so, we need to act now!

So, why do we need to #SaveOurVenues?

As discussed, millions of people rely on these venues for entertainment or employment. These venues are of immense cultural and economic importance, and simply put, if they close they won’t reopen. One of the biggest threats to these venues under normal circumstances is developers buying venues from landlords and building new flats in their place. It can’t be assumed that if a venue closes it will ever reopen and therefore we must protect these cultural landmarks before it’s too late.

If we look at the bigger picture, not all major artists shoot to fame via a TV talent show. Most artists start out playing to virtually nobody in the back room of a pub before slowly climbing the ladder to larger venues. It’s during this time that bands and artists get to hone their craft and earn their stripes. Consider it a rite of passage. Ed Sheeran, Adele, Radiohead, even The Beatles all started their careers in these venues.

The collapse of the affectionately known ‘toilet circuit’ would have catastrophic effects on our future stars. It would stifle many artists before their breakthrough moment. It would also repress an avenue of influence on young people. How many artists were motivated to pursue music after witnessing their favourite artist pass through town?

A very stark fact is that the closure of these venues will have an unfair effect on the lowest earning members of society. We can’t all afford to travel to other cities or pay for high priced tickets. For some, bands passing through local venues is their only opportunity to enjoy live music. To see these venues close could have harmful effects on entire communities.

There are very real, very serious consequences of our venues closing; consequences for people, for businesses and for the entire music industry. The music industry by its very nature is creative and I will look at the rise of livestreams in my next blog; but for this industry to rise and hopefully thrive post-pandemic, we need to #SaveOurVenues!

How can you help?

You can learn more about the issues facing our venues at the following links:

Save Our Venues
Music Venue Trust
Independent Venue Week
We Make Events

You can donate to the cause:

Save Our Venues National Campaign
Save Our Venues Red List

You buy merchandise to support the campaigns:

Save Our Venues Merchandise
We Make Events Merchandise

You can also write to your local MP about the issue:

Write to my MP

Finally, spread the message! Tell your friends and family, head onto Social Media and encourage others to get involved in the campaign and together we can #SaveOurVenues!