By Laura Kelly Big Issue Culture Editor
GRASSROOTS MUSIC VENUES
Heavily tipped to be one of the bands of 2024, Leeds alt-rockers English Teacher have been feted across the music press and BBC 6 Music. They’ve signed to Island Records, performed on Later... With Jools Holland, been handpicked to support Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Paolo Nutini, and captivated crowds at Glastonbury, SXSW and Reading and Leeds.
But none of this would have happened, they say, without independent grassroots music venues.
“We literally wouldn’t be doing what we’re doing now without independent, small venues,” affirms guitarist Lewis Whiting. English Teacher are the artist ambassadors for this year’s Independent Venue Week (IVW), which sees more than 200 UK venues join together to hail the power of the grassroots to break new music from diverse artists, build community and lift local economies.
“I talk a lot about my home town,” says singer Lily Fontaine, who grew up in the Lancashire market town of Colne and has written about her conflicted feelings about it in songs like The World’s Biggest Paving Slab. “The best bit about it was the grassroots music scene and how it supported kids.
“I was 14 when I started doing open mic. It gives you something to do in an evening or on a weekend – to make music. And without that, you don’t do the next step.”
Thousands of music fans will mark IVW this week by enjoying gigs in intimate and exciting venues, but the celebration comes just days after a shocking new report revealed a sector on the very brink. Music Venue Trust’s (MVT) annual report shows 2023 was the worst year for closures since their records began ten years ago. The UK lost grassroots music venues at a rate of two a week.
In the midst of a cost of living crisis that continues to pummel individuals and businesses, the grassroots sector as a whole operated on a profit margin of just 0.5% in 2023. For context – 5% is usually considered a low profit margin, 10% healthy. Less than 1% is undeniably precarious, particularly considering the rents paid by small venues have increased by 37.5% in the last year. Despite an increased demand for tickets, 38% of venues reported a loss in 2023.
“If you take away the small regional venues, then you’re only going to get certain places where you can be a musician, and then you’re only going to get a certain type of mu
