We’re done – what an incredible 7 days.
The most enormous thank you ALL for your help and support in making Independent Venue Week’s 5th birthday such an ENORMOUS success.
They say don’t meet your heroes. We’ve spent all week meeting ours – the effervescent, the maverick, the tireless, the cheeky, the extremely funny, the passionate and the most ardent music supporters you’ll ever wish to meet. Here’s to you, all of the venue owners and operators who are part of our Independent Venue Week family. We love you all.
To all of you who went to a gig, thank you and well done. To all of the artists, promoters, media and partners – a huge thank you. Every year, IVW gets bigger and takes longer to pull together. Once, again it’s been over a year to organise and it was every bit as good as we hoped it would be. And more.
Aside from discovering some great new music and enjoying artists we already know and love, we get the biggest buzz from travelling around the country and meeting the heroes that keep these places going.
Independent Venue Week was set up to celebrate venues and the people who own, run and operate them – they are some of the most remarkable people you could ever wish to meet. Passionate, dedicated, driven and caring. And they do all this so other people can shine.
But, once again, for this one week, it has been about the venues. It’s about them being on the stage and in the spotlight. And deservedly so. Thank you to every single one of them.
Huge thanks also go to everyone who has supported IVW this year including the brilliant Steve Lamacq and his very lovely BBC Radio 6 Music team Helen, Matt along with Lucy, Claire, Danni, Fergus and the BBC Music team, Rachel and James.
Also to BBC 6 Music News‘ Matt, Elizabeth and Clare, Chis Hawkins and Shaun Keaveny on their 6 Music early and regular breakfast shows. To Lauren Laverne for having us on Desert Island Disco and Amy Lame for a very croaky interview even before IVW started! We hope we have haven’t missed anyone – apologies if we have – it was such a huge team this year.
Their coverage across 6 Music, BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 3, BBC Music Introducing and other places we may have missed, everyday of not just venues, promoters and artists but also partners and fans shows just how deep the passion for these spaces goes.
Also DJ John Kennedy, Radio X , Nigel Williams at Jazz FM and La at Reprezent Radio.
We want to also thank our partners Arts Council England for their significant and vital support, Creative Scotland, Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru | Arts Council of Wales|, Help Musicians UK, PRS for Music, PRS Foundation, Vauxhall, Marshall Amplification, Skiddle, Vevo, Fred Perry, Musicians’ Union, Signature Brew, BACKSTAGE ACADEMY and Hardwick & Morris.
Huge thanks also go to our brilliant Ambassadors, Portishead‘s Adrian Utley, Nadine Shah, Jamie Cullum, Darryl DMC McDaniels and our first non-artist, Bristol legend, Big Jeff. it’s been a pleasure and a treat getting to work with you.
Their support is vital not only to help these venues have such a great week but also to build a platform for a stronger year.
You have hopefully seen that we are running Independent Venue Week US this summer. It’s an incredible and exciting development for the project and for all of the venues taking part, here and in the US. And we’re really excited to be working with the lovely team at Marauder.
We are also co-producing a documentary with Rob, Pip, Billy and all of the lovely Blue Hippo team who made Last Shop Standing. We started filming during IVW and will soon be launching a crowd funding campaign to raise the money to film throughout this year.
We have also been recording some of live the shows this week with brilliant kit from OpenLIVE and we are hoping to produce an IVW Live album with VDC Group in time for Record Store Day UK – it’s very tight time wise but we’re going to give it our best shot.
Independent Venue Week is just one week – and whilst we do work with venues throughout the year, this is the biggest event we do. So please don’t forget that they are there all year – keep supporting and #gotoagig
