THE seven day live music shindig Independent Venue week is back for its third year next week, from 25th-31st January 2016, having grown into a firmly established date in the musical calendar over the past two years.
The event, unique in being the only national live music project with a ‘local’ impact, celebrates the spirit and culture of live music and champions the small, revered venues that form the lifeblood of the British music scene and the people who own, run and work in them.
This year sees the expansion from 91 to 113 independent music venues playing host to gigs by both up and coming and established acts, taking in 9 venues in Scotland. Curators of the event, such as BBC Introducing, PIAS and Domino Records will hope to build on the success of last year’s edition, which saw 820 acts play, attracting a whopping 32,923 gig-goers across the country.
There’s a tasty selection of gigs taking place at Edinburgh’s Electric Circus, La Belle Angèle and Sneaky Pete’s, Glasgow’s Audio, The Hug and Pint, The Glad Café and Broadcast, as well as Aberdeen’s Krakatoa and Dundee’s Buskers.
Highlights include Matthew E White bringing his groove laden indie soul sound to Electric Circus, while Broadcast plays host to C Duncan’s award nominated dreamy acoustic folk and celestial rockers Call to Mind take to the stage at The Glad Café.
Independent Venue Week, this year, is partnering with two charities; Attitude is Everything, the music charity that works with audiences, artists and the music industry to improve deaf and disabled people’s access to live music. Also involved is Stay Up Late with their gig buddy scheme linking adults who have a learning disability to a volunteer with similar interests in music, so they can attend gigs together.
The modus operandi is simple, Independent Venue Week wants to recognise all that they have done to create some of the most memorable nights of the past so they can continue to do the same in the future, while allowing for music fans to (re) discover the romance of a live gig.
