Music Venue Trust launches FIGHTBACK fundraiser
National charity Music Venue Trust has announced a one-off ‘FIGHTBACK’ gig to raise vital funds to stop music venue closures across the country.
The event will bring together music fans at the Roundhouse in London on 18 October, but, so far, no artists, bands, sound engineers or lighting have been booked.
The trust has launched an appeal for headline and support artists to come forward to support the event.
Sound engineers, lighting technicians and backline suppliers are also urged to contact the charity to share their expertise and make FIGHTBACK happen.
Ticket booking will open on Monday 19 September from the Roundhouse website, with initial early bird tickets on sale for £10. As artists are confirmed, the ticket price will increase.
Mark Davyd of the Music Venue Trust said: ‘We’re announcing an event today which has no artists booked and no infrastructure confirmed because this is urgent. What’s happening to our music venues is an emergency which should concern every music fan, every musician, and everybody working in the music industry in the UK.
‘As of 9am this morning we genuinely don’t know who is playing. It might be me with a ukulele and a bass drum tied to my back, or it might be the biggest artist in the world. We’re asking music fans from across London to please join us for just one night to say loudly and clearly that we’ve all had enough of music venue closures and we aren’t going to put up with it any more.
He continued: ‘We hope musicians and music fans will believe that’s a cause worth joining. If it turns out someone who believed in that cause paid £10 to hear me whistle the national anthem and rant about the importance of venues for half an hour, then the cause will still be worth it. And if you buy a ticket on Monday for £10 and it ends up being stuffed full of Brit Award winners and the people around you paid £100, then lucky you.’
The charity, which works to protect, secure and improve the UK’s grassroots music venues, is seeking to raise vital funds for its new nationwide initiative Emergency Response.
The initiative aims to directly stop music venue closures by tackling the cost and complexity of legal advice and expert opinion on planning, development, noise and licensing issues.
Davyd said: ‘Too often, venues are going to the wall because they don’t get the best advice they can as early as they can. Developers and local authorities have got deep pockets to pay for the best legal advice; venues need somebody in their corner and that’s what we’re going to do.’
