Yesterday we made it to Day Five of #IVW25, and the IVW team were raring to rock out to the weekend’s many events!
We began our evening in the picturesque city of Norwich, at Voodoo Daddy’s Showroom for a headline show with one of #IVW25’s touring bands, KEG. A band that has thoroughly embraced the IVW ethos since their formation in 2019, we were incredibly proud to watch them play to a packed audience in the venue’s basement showroom. A central mission of Independent Venue Week and its sister charity, Independent Venue Community, is to inspire younger generations to invest in their local music scenes and even pursue work throughout them. One of the ways in which we were hopeful to achieve this during #IVW25 was through the Soundcheck Sessions, in partnership with Arts Council England, enabling students to visit independent venues and partake in a load-in and soundcheck before a show. KEG jumped at the opportunity to be involved in the sessions taking place at Voodoo Daddy’s, and worked alongside students from Norwich’s surrounding colleges prior to their headline gig.
After a couple of slices of the venue’s famous pizza and a pint of Beavertown IPA, gig-punters began to swarm the showroom as the night commenced. KEG’s supporting acts couldn’t have been more fitting for their chaotic sound, with math-rock duo FEASTS delivering an explosive set of rhythmically intense numbers, followed by post-punk newcomers Y. With their audience warmed up and ready to throw their bodies around the showroom, KEG took centre stage and treated us to a set combining previous releases with unheard tracks from their anticipated debut album, due in March. No band does brass arrangements like KEG, and trombonists’ brash melodies were the perfect accompaniment to the septet’s whacky synth sounds and frontman Albert Haddenham’s furious vocals. There’s never a dull moment in a KEG set and by the end of the night, everyone in the room had danced until their feet hurt; but how could they not with songs about Michael Phelps and posh kids?
Elsewhere, in the South East at Margate Arts Club in Margate, the IVW team joined BBC 6Music presenter Huw Stephens for a live broadcast at the independent venue with performances from singer-songwriter Lapsley and DJ, broadcaster, and record label founder Gilles Peterson. A Queer-run, intersectional, community focused independent arts and music venue, Margate Arts Club is the crown jewel of the sea-side Kentish town, providing a hub for creatives from all backgrounds and demographics. Another touring artist for #IVW25, Gilles Peterson has been raising the roof with his sets in the country’s independent venues. With the weekend in reach, the IVW team definitely needed some party anthems to get them through Friday night, and Peterson delivered a set nothing short of fabulous for the venue’s audience! Margate Arts Club truly became groove central last night, and Peterson’s performance definitely made it a memorable Friday.
Independent Venue Week doesn’t just do music, it also caters for a range of events, some of those being comedy nights. Where better than Ropery Hall in Barton-Upon-Humber for the IVW team to end their Friday night with a comedy line-up of acts from the national circuit: Fran Garrity, Stephanie Laing, and Dave Williams. Everybody’s favourite comedians had to start somewhere, and independent venues like Ropery Hall are renowned for hosting some of the most famous comedy acts at the start of their careers. Barton might be a quiet town only a stone’s throw from the city of Hull, but the laughter erupting from inside the Hall’s walls on Friday night could have been heard all the way through to Lincoln. In short, Ropery Hall not only brought laughter to Barton-Upon-Humber but also showcased the vital role independent venues play in nurturing emerging talent and providing unforgettable experiences for both performers and audiences alike.
Join us tomorrow for our daily round-up of the #IVW25 events, and don’t forget to follow us on socials.
Listen back to Gilles set at Margate Arts Club on Day Five of Independent Venue Week 2025