- MARKING OUR TENTH ANNIVERSARY, MORE THAN 300 UK VENUES WILL HOST HUNDREDS OF GIGS & EVENTS IN THE UK’S BIGGEST CELEBRATION OF INDEPENDENT LIVE MUSIC
- ARTISTS PLAYING SHOWS INCLUDE SUEDE, YOUNG FATHERS, THE MURDER CAPITAL, ANNA MEREDITH, PHILIP SELWAY, BEABADOOBEE, AMBER ARCADES, ADWAITH, BENEFITS, THE UNTHANKS, THE PRETENDERS & MANY MANY MORE
- FANS URGED TO SUPPORT THEIR LOCAL VENUE BY BUYING A TICKET AND GETTING INVOLVED
Independent Venue Week (IVW), the UK’s annual 7-day celebration of independent music and arts venues and the people that own, run and work in them, returns this Monday (January 30th) to Sunday February 5th.
Celebrating our 10th anniversary, IVW 2023 will be encouraging music fans from across the UK to support their local venue and enjoy hundreds of live gigs and events throughout the week. Fans are also asked to share their experiences by posting photos and videos online using the #IVW23 and #10YearsofIVW hashtags.
More than 300 independent venues will participate in IVW 2023, ranging from iconic halls like The Troxy, which holds over 3,000 people, through to the tiny Grayston Unity in Halifax, which recently doubled in size to a miniscule 35-capacity. These include 64 venues taking part for the first time, and brand new venues such as New Century (Manchester), Here (London), The Lower Third (London) and Dros Ben Tan (Neath).
Suede, Young Fathers, You Me At Six, Editors, Anna Meredith, Band of Skulls, Amber Arcades, Brian Jonestown Massacre, beabadoobee, Adwaith, The Pretenders, Springs, The Unthanks, Benefits, LIFE, English Teacher, Philip Selway and Rozi Plain are just a few of the amazing artists who will be playing shows throughout the week. For a complete list of all IVW gigs and venues, please head to www.independentvenueweek.com
Supported by Arts Council England, BBC Radio 6 Music, See Tickets, Beavertown, PPL, The Brits Trust Ltd, Creative Scotland, Marshall, TagMix, Creative Wales, Warchild and BBC Music Introducing, IVW’s 10th anniversary Artist Ambassadors for 2023 are beabadoobee, Radiohead’s Philip Selway, Young Fathers (Scotland) and Adwaith (Wales).
Sybil Bell, Founder of Independent Venue Week said:
“We’re beyond excited to have reached 10 years of shining a spotlight on our amazing community who work so tirelessly year round. With such amazing support from our partners, we are able to have a nationwide celebration of independent and unique spaces in every nook and cranny of the country whilst helping nurture new talent on and off stage.
“I would encourage everyone to check out shows in their local area, buy a ticket and have a great night out with mates whilst supporting locally-owned independent businesses. We’re excited for the week ahead and for the next 10 years.”
Other IVW 2023 highlights will include:
BBC Radio 6 Music: a week of dedicated programming from our broadcast partner, including Steve Lamacq’s nationwide five-day tour, featuring a series of special shows from different independent venues with Sprints, Grove, Young Fathers, The Murder Capital and Suede.
BBC Music Introducing: support across the vital regional music network that will spotlight some amazing local venues and shows, including Newton Faulkner, Billie Marten, Luke RV, Darcey Iola, Steven Oh, Parris Robbo, Tropic Gold, English Teacher, Skinny Pelembe, Sofy, The Mysterines, Missfaithee and Adwaith.
As part of IVW’s partner programme, Independent Venue Community, we will also be presenting a number of activities of our community programme during Independent Venue Week.
Young People: We are running a series of Soundcheck Sessions around the country across the week, where young people can visit a venue before doors open to the public, and meet the artists, their crew and the backstage team to learn more about how a show and tour are put together. Artists involved include LIFE, Ben Ottewell, SOFY and Band of Skulls.
Deaf, Disabled and Neurodivergent: IVW is proud of our long-term commitment to improving accessibility for disabled audiences, artists and backstage staff. In addition to our partnership with the charity Attitude is Everything, where we are running a series #JustAsk sessions for promoters, we are proud to support shows from Kris Halpin (who will support Philip Selway at The Boileroom in Guildford), and Sanjeev Mann, aka Supermann on da beat, who will headline a special Amplifi show at The Queens Hall in Edinburgh.
Mental health and Wellbeing: We are delighted to be supporting a live show from our long-time Ambassador and friend Big Jeff with his band The Outlines at Bristol’s Louisiana – his first since his accident last year. We are also running a six-week Peer-to-Peer Support session in partnership with Tonic Rider and Help Musicians UK, taking place in Leeds.
LGBTQIA+: As part of our ongoing partnership with Come Play With Me in Leeds, IVW will provide support for both their I Know A Place event and Side By Side sessions for promoters.
And finally, some words from our amazing Ambassadors:
Philip Selway: “I’m honoured to be an Ambassador for IVW in their 10th Anniversary year. This past decade has seen IVW do incredible work in supporting and nurturing this vital musical community of independent venues. For me, these venues are the lifeblood of music in the UK, and after the great challenges they’ve faced these past few years, I’m excited to represent them in this way.”
beabadoobee: “I’m extremely proud to be an Ambassador of Independent Venue Week. These venues are so important at giving young emerging artists a starting point in their career. I will never forget my first gig at The Boileroom in Guildford where I jumped on stage with my friends for 3 songs or my first proper beabadoobee headline show at the Old Pancras Church in Kings Cross. My first and earliest gigs will always be some of my most precious memories. We need to do our best to keep these venues up and running and I want to help shine a light on how important independent venues really are to artists’ careers.”
Young Fathers: “We cut our teeth in small independent venues. There’s no rehearsal room that can match a venue. Whether empty or full. The things you think will work that don’t and vice versa. The moments in between songs, the silence, the applause, the people chatting at the back, the sound being terrible, the power going off. How to deal with it, how to play with it. There’s nothing that gives you a greater experience of performing live more than the experience itself.
“The three of us met in the old-old Bongo Club in Edinburgh (the original one has since been knocked down, directly across from the Edinburgh Council building). We’ll never forget the moment of feeling those subwoofers for the first time. We were 14 years old. The Yard MCs held a night with an open mic, which we took full advantage of.
“Venues up and down the country face all different types of issues post pandemic, as well as facing other issues such as the draconian noise laws like we do here in Edinburgh. So what happens as of now? Town or city, it’s extremely important to make sure there’s a continuous flow of artists who are able to sharpen their ideas in front of real people, on a real stage. For local acts and acts from afar, from known to unknown. The ability to have it right there in front of you is an experience that should be afforded to everybody.”
Adwaith: “We are so honoured to have been asked to be ambassadors for next year’s Independent Venue Week. We owe our whole career to independent venues up and down the country and we never would have thought about starting a band if it wasn’t for our local venue in Caerfyrddin. To think that youngsters might not have the same opportunities as us is heartbreaking, especially to music lovers in rural Cymru. Times are tough but it’s more important than ever to support your local venue, anyway you can! Go to gigs, share their posts, buy their merch, show them love!”
