The newly-opened music venues bucking the trend: “You’re creating history from the moment that you open the doors”

nme.com:

NME about their motivation for opening in arguably the most precarious period for the grassroots music scene in history.In their 2024 annual report, Music Venue Trust (MVT) published that 200 independent venues remain in a state of emergency, while the UK lost approximately one venue per fortnight.

The MVT argued that rising business costs in the wake of the UK’s autumn budget will place over 350 grassroots venues at immediate risk.Nonetheless, venues like London’s LVLS and Soul Mama, plus Manchester’s The Rat & Pigeon have successfully opened in the past year.

Southampton’s Papillon opened in late 2023, with Portsmouth’s KOLA due to open its doors in March.LVLS, Soul Mama and The Rat & Pigeon are participating in Independent Venue Week (IVW) for the first time this year, joining 211 other UK venues in the much-loved celebration of independent music and arts venues.

Kicking off on Monday (January 27), IVW will run all across the country until Sunday (February 2).“The conversations murmur on in the background, but Independent Venue Week really brings them into the spotlight,” Sam Foster, who runs The Rat & Pigeon and is Operations Director at the FutureCultures Pub Group, told NME. “One of the biggest challenges that we face is building a history, because we’ve only been here six months.