The Music Venue Trust has announced six new patrons, with COO Beverley Whitrick stressing the importance of the MVT “understanding the needs and requirements of grassroots music venues”.
The new patrons are Derry band Cherym (pitcured), Aberdeenshire folk singer Iona Fyfe, Paul Connolly of Belfast’s The Wood Burning Savages, Bangor’s :Panic :Over, festival owner and organiser Goc O’Callaghan and Brighton-based band Genn.
They join existing patrons including Sir Paul McCartney, Nova Twins, Frank Turner, Kate Nash, Tim Burgess, Steve Lamacq MBE, Gemma Bradley, Sony Music’s Jason Iley, CAA’s Summer Marshall, John Whittingdale MP and Kerry McCarthy MP.
Beverley Whitrick said: “It is really important that our ordganisation has representative voices from around the United Kingdom and these six fantastic patrons, through their advocacy and insights, will ensure that we have a continued understanding of the needs and requirements of grassroots music venues.”
It is really important that our ordganisation has representative voices from around the United Kingdom
Beverley Whitrick, MVT
Cherym said that grassroots venues are the “cornerstone of our beloved music scene.”
The band added: “They are your first steps into the industry, and they are the supportive big sister championing you on who’s always got your back. They are the real No.1 supporter of independent artists and provide a platform and a welcoming space to showcase art freely and connect with your community no strings attached. We wouldn’t be where we are now if it wasn’t for playing sweaty little underground stages all across the country. With so much bullshit in the music industry right now, grassroots venues are the good guys, the safe spaces that we can count on to be there and they need to be protected at all costs."
Goc O’Callaghan said: “Independent venues are integral to the ecosystem of the music industry. They are the incubators of emerging talent, excelling some artists to international fame and festival headlining slots. Independent venues build and sustain communities and create legacy and prestige as cultural markers. As someone who grew up in the Tunbridge Wells Forum, the foundations of what I do today are firmly rooted in this independent venues: from watching bands from the age of 12, to performing on the stage, to photographing some (now) very well known bands, to now owning and running ArcTanGent festival. It is imperative that the music industry and our audiences support the independent venues in the UK and for that reason (amongst many), I am honoured to be a patron for MVT."
Paul Connolly of Wood Burning Savages added: “With every fibre of my being I believe that it’s vital that our ecosystem of grassroots music venues not only survive, but are supported and given the opportunity to thrive. Whether you’re a songwriter, musician, engineer, technician a booking agent or any other of the jobs necessary to gig and tour, we are each of us the members of a future audience and we need and deserve these spaces. To imagine a life without them is unthinkable. I am proud to be a patron of Music Venue Trust and dedicate myself to always trying to speak for the walls and roofs that could tell a billion stories.”
:Panic :Over said: “Our first gigs as headline artists were in the Belfast grassroots venues, Voodoo and The Oh Yeah Centre. We don't think people realise how essential these venues are to bands like us when they're just starting out. Trying to figure out who you are as a band, nail your sound, and building a local audience are all vital first steps. To be able to take these steps in a professional working environment has been paramount to our success. Without grassroots venues there would be no us. There would be no major headline artists (you now pay hundreds of pounds to see in the distance in a stadium.) We all have one thing in common - we all started in grassroots venues. For that reason :Panic :Over will continue to support the Music Venue Trust throughout our entire career - and we are very proud to now be their official patrons.”
Iona Fyfe said: As a folksinger growing up in rural North East of Scotland, I cut my teeth performing in the folk clubs and independent Grassroots Venues of Aberdeenshire. During my studies at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, I was introduced to the vitally important venues of Glasgow, a UNESCO Music City. As an artist, Grassroots Music Venues are the lifeblood of the UK touring circuit and are the beating hear of our music ecosystem. The future of these venues must be ensured not through hollow speeches and plaudits in parliament but through tangible and meaningful fiscal support.
Genn commented: “We know first-hand how important music venues are for the enrichment and empowerment of our wider communities (after all, independent music venues and promoters were the first to give us the opportunity to perform), especially for artists and aspiring music industry professionals from minority and working-class backgrounds, and those typically underrepresented in the industry. So it's crucial that these spaces are safeguarded and supported, not only for the present generation of musicians, but perhaps more importantly, for the generations to come.”
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