Joe GallopOrganisers of Independent Venue Week (IVW have encouraged gig-goers and the music industry to get behind next year’s event which takes place from 29 January – 4 February.
At a launch party hosted yesterday (12 October) by BBC Radio 6 Music’s Huw Stephens at Manchester’s Rebellion (cap. 520) as part of the Beyond The Music conference, IVW founder Sybil Bell revealed that over 110 venues have already signed up for IVW24, with more than 40% of those being situated in the North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber.
IVW has set a deadline of 14 November for venues to be signed up to take part in the event. In total, more than one million tickets have been sold to IVW shows since 2014.
Bell said, “It’s an incredibly tough economic environment right now, particularly for small businesses, so if we can kick start the year by motivating music fans to leave the house and head to their local venue, then that’s a massive win for everyone. It’s vital that we celebrate and recognise the importance of these independent spaces, as well as those who work and perform in them, and their collective contribution to British culture.
“The venues taking part in IVW deserve the support of more artists, managers, agents and promoters to make it the success we’re all used to enjoying across the week. The industry getting behind IVW is absolutely crucial, and why we’ve come to Beyond The Music in Manchester to urge everyone involved in the live business to speak to us, to visit our website, to see which venues are involved and to book some shows.”
Artists confirmed to be performing IVW shows during the week include Kawala, Skinny Living and TVAM, with more being added on a daily basis.
IVW’s 2024 artist ambassador – who will follow artists such as Radiohead’s Philip Selway, beabadoobee, Wet Leg, Arlo Parks, Anna Calvi, Wolf Alice, Nadine Shah and Novelist – will be revealed in coming weeks, alongside ambassadors for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
IVW has confirmed support from Arts Council England, BBC Radio 6 Music, BBC Music Introducing, Creative Wales and PPL with more partners to be announced.
Beyond The Music
Introduced by Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and chaired by Mark Radcliffe, guests at the first edition of Beyond The Music shared insight from across decades in the music industry. It saw the beginning of three days of live music across multiple venues in the city.
The conference was founded by promoter and social enterprise founder Oli Wilson, working alongside BTM director Sarah Pearson, founder of Wasted Youth Music, and Chair Rose Marley, CEO of Co-Operatives UK, and a committee that includes Michael Adex, CEO of NQ, and Jane Beese, director of Music at Factory International.
“This is the start, truly of a new era of Manchester music,” said Burnham.