Joe GallopThe National Lottery will contribute £1m to charity Music Venue Trust (MVT) in a new initiative to fund the touring and production costs of more than 300 live performances this summer in an effort to help revive the UK’s grassroots live music sector.
The Revive Live Tour will run throughout the summer until early October, and will include 20 tours. Tours will involve acts including Olivia Dean, Twin Atlantic, The Magic Gang and The Futureheads, while there will be one-off shows by Sir Tom Jones, Rag ‘N’ Bone Man, Mahalia, James Arthur, Frank Turner, Sam Fender and Fontaines D.C.
MVT said up to 30,000 tickets, or around half the capacity of the combined shows, will be gifted to National Lottery players, with them having a chance to gain access to every show for free. Each ticket-holder will be invited to bring a plus-one for free by showing a purchased National Lottery ticket or Scratchcard when they attend the gig.
MVT CEO Mark Dayvd said, “It’s so important to get artists and crew back out and working, to get our grassroots music venues back up and running, and to get friends, families and communities back together enjoying live music.
“Grassroots music venues play a crucial role in the development of British music, nurturing local talent, providing a platform for artists to build their careers and develop their music and their performance skills. These venues also play a vital role in the cultural and economic vibrancy of any village, town or city.”
Culture minister Caroline Dinenage said, “As we continue to work towards live events being fully reopened from July 19th, I’m pleased that this collaboration will help get many artists back playing live at local venues across the country.”
Tickets for The National Lottery’s Revive Live Tour go on sale on 12 July from 8pm.