The Sugarmill is celebrating after being awarded a grant from Arts Council England’s Supporting Grassroots Live Music fund.
The grant will enable the 400-capacity Stoke-on-Trent venue to upgrade its 20-year-old sound system for a new, modern PA system.
Promoter Danni Brownsill said: “We at The Sugarmill are ecstatic to have been awarded this funding from Arts Council England. We believe we will be able to provide a better quality experience for artists and audiences. We’ll be able to diversify our programming and develop new audiences. We worked with Music Venues Trust, Whitelight and D&B audiotechnik to come up with a rider-friendly audio solution best suited to our needs.
"We’re also delighted to be partnering with local educators to allow students to come in and train to be the next generation of sound engineers, lighting techs and stage managers, now we’ll have a system that is more of an industry standard. This funding really will give our venue the tools it needs to continue to prosper and grow and to continue to support the Stoke music scene and the wider industry.”
We are delighted that iconic venues across the country like The Sugarmill are getting the support they so desperately needed
Mark Davyd
Music Venue Trust
Opened in 1995, the independent city centre venue actively promotes the local scene and has hosted early shows by the likes of Coldplay, Muse, Elbow, Daft Punk, Stereophonics, A Day to Remember, Snow Patrol, The National, Idles, Kasabian, Biffy Clyro, Wolf Alice, Trivium, Bring Me The Horizon, Foals, You Me At Six, Glassjaw, The 1975, Catfish And The Bottlemen, Blossoms and The Libertines.
Music Venue Trust CEO Mark Davyd added: 'We are delighted that iconic venues across the country like The Sugarmill are getting the support they so desperately needed. We'd like to thank Arts Council England once again for creating this incredibly important fund."
