INDEPENDENT VENUE WEEK LAUNCHES PLANS FOR 2016

24 November 2015 - Press release

Monday 25^th – Sunday 31^st January 2016

Now in its third year, Independent Venue Week is back in January 2016 with a week-long series of gigs all around the UK.

The 7 day long campaign which runs nationally but with a local grassroots focus has grown again from last year with 120 now venues taking part, from Aberdeen to Exeter and Belfast to Norwich. Among venues joining this year are Quay Arts (Isle of Wight), The Soundhouse (Leicester) and Nambucca (north London).

This year’s Ambassadors are Mercury Music Prize Nominees Wolf Alice who are taking over from Frank Turner (2015) and Colin Greenwood (2014). 

“We are proud to be ambassadors of this year’s Independent Venue Week and ask for peoples support so these kind of unique, intimate and sweaty shows continue for everyone to enjoy. Venues that we started off playing along with so many other bands have created some of our funniest memories to date. We’d love for that to continue for us and for other bands, please show your support.”

Artists performing over the 7 days include Everything Everything, Matthew E. White, Mallory Knox, Childhood, Misty Miller, Beans on Toast, Eliza and the Bear, Saffron (Republica) Tom Hingley (Inspiral Carpets), Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly, Georgia, Get Inuit and Edwyn Collins who is following up his involvement last year. As well as playing live, he is also curating the week at Hebden Bridge Trades Club.

Other curating partners include Rob da Bank and Sunday Best, BBC Introducing, PIAS, Domino Records, The Joe Strumner Foundation and More artists will be announced across social media in the coming weeks.

This year, IVW 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.