The Music Venue Trust is appealing for acts to come forward for a one-off evening of music in a bid to raise funds to stop music venue closures across the country.
Fightback will bring together music fans at The Roundhouse in London on Tuesday, October 18.
So far no artists, bands, sound engineers or even lighting has been booked, and the MVT is launching an appeal for headline and support artists to support the event. Sound engineers, lighting technicians and backline suppliers are also urged to contact the charity to share their expertise and make the event happen.
MVT CEO Mark Davyd 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.
“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."
Tickets go on sale on Monday (September 19) from the Roundhouse website, with early-bird tickets available for £10. As artists are confirmed, the ticket price will increase.
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’ which aims to directly stop music venue closures by tackling the number one root cause - the cost and complexity of legal advice and expert opinion on planning, development, noise and licensing issues.
By filling in a simple online form, venues will be able to access the very best advice from the UK’s leading experts on licensing, acoustics, noise, legal and tenancy issues with a guaranteed response in 72 hours. Initial advice from the service will be free to all grassroots music venues in the UK.
