Tom Grennan appointed as Music Venue Trust patron
The Music Venue Trust has confirmed UK singer-songwriter Tom Grennan as their latest patron. The MVT seeks to raise money and awareness for grassroots venues across the UK, which have been greatly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing cost of living crisis.
Artist patrons have been an essential aspect of the Music Venue Trust’s promotional work from the beginning, often supporting fundraising efforts and campaigns like #SaveOurVenues. Discussing the vital role played by UK grassroots venues, Grennan said: “Grassroots venues are so important because if we didn’t have them, we wouldn’t have music.”
Grennan, who found fame as the guest vocalist on Chase & Status’s 2016 track ‘All Goes Wrong’, went on to note: “Music is still alive and this is why venues like this are so important, because if we didn’t have venues I wouldn’t be about, and I know a lot of others wouldn’t be about. There are so many artists, so many genres of music, so many different people that are wanting or needing to be found.”
He continued: “You don’t need to be glued to your phone to try and find the next big thing because, trust me, the next big things are in venues like this. So, get off your phone, go out and watch and listen to live music, and enjoy it.”
The Bedford-born musician was recently praised for attempting to keep his tour ticket prices as low as possible, rejecting VIP and platinum ticket options in a bid to make his headline 2023 UK arena tour as accessible as possible.
News of Grennan’s support follows the launch of MVT’s ‘Own Our Venues’ campaign, which aims to provide ownership to grassroots music venues across the UK. The Ed Sheeran-backed scheme hopes to secure the future of such venues by providing a solution to the continually damaging issue of ownership. Think “The National Trust, but for venues”.
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