Sam Fender’s arena tour has helped fund 38 independent venues in the UK
Sam Fender‘s UK arena tour has helped fund 38 independent venues across the country, the Music Venue Trust has revealed.
Last winter, Fender took to the road ahead of the release of his chart-topping third album, People Watching, to arenas across the United Kingdom. For every ticket sold across the run, a £1 donation was made to the Music Venue Trust.
Along with Save Our Scene, the Music Venues Trust has formed the Liveline Fund, which has distributed the funds raised from Fender’s tour. In total, a package worth over £100,000 has been distributed to venues across the UK to deliver urgent emergency assistance alongside essential improvement grants.
19 venues have received the Emergency Hardship Relief Fund and Emergency Response Team from the Liveline Fund to prevent immediate venue closers. Meanwhile, another 19 venues received over £50,000 in direct improvement grants, which will help them upgrade their facilities and infrastructure.
Fender, who cut his teeth playing these venues before graduating to arenas, said of the fundraising mission: “It’s brilliant to see that the money raised from the arena tour is making a real difference to so many venues.”
The ‘Seventeen Going Under’ singer continued: “The grassroots circuit has been decimated over the last 10 years or so and the idea that money from shows in big venues supports the smaller venues, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just common sense. These places are legendary.”
Venues to have been helped financially by the tour include Stereo, Sub Club, Paper Dress Vintage, The Hunter Club, The White Hotel, The Strines Nightingale, Spanners, The Garibaldi Hotel, Moor Beer Vaults, Slay Glasgow, Hippos, Ashburton Arts Centre, Clwb Ifor Bach, Newhampton Arts Centre, The Verdict, and The Peer Hat.
Manchester’s The White Hotel said of receiving funding: “The increased cost of running a hospitality business, especially one that prioritises art and culture, is increasingly difficult. This financial support is vital to us.”
Mark Davyd, the CEO of the Music Venue Trust, told MusicWeek that it is a “remarkable contribution” which will have a “real and lasting impact on the grassroots music ecosystem”.
Fender recently wrapped up his summer dates in the UK and Ireland, which concluded with a headline set at Electric Picnic. He will head to the US, Canada and Australia later this year before wrapping up on his People Watching chapter.
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