Waterbear and Music Venue Trust partner for inaugural ‘Keeping Music Live’ multi-city tour

23 September 2025 - Press release

 

• Proceeds from tickets go directly to the charity Music Venue Trust. 

• Showcasing regional talent across the UK, the tour takes in venues in Hull, Sheffield, Manchester, Nottingham, Norwich, London, and Brighton.

• Demonstrating WaterBear’s continued commitment to music education, and investment in the ecosystem and sustainability of grassroots music venues. 

Waterbear—the College of Music—in collaboration with Music Venue Trust (MVT), has announced its inaugural ‘Keeping Music Live’ campaign: a national tour running from October 18 to November 1, 2025, supporting independent and grassroots music venues across the UK. 

Further supported by Love Music Hate Racism and Save Our Scene, the tour will visit The New Adelphi Club in Hull, Yellow Arch Studios in Sheffield, Castle Hotel in Manchester - for a show produced in partnership with Scruff of the Neck - Rough Trade Nottingham, Voodoo Daddy’s in Norwich, Rough Trade East in London, and WaterBear Venue in Brighton. 

The ‘Keeping Music Live’ tour includes a slot for local openers in each location, giving regional bands a platform on a tour with national visibility, and giving back to the local ecosystems it draws from. Each venue showcases emerging and breakthrough acts, including students from WaterBear’s Sheffield and Brighton colleges. Headlining are Maftin(Hull), Femur (Sheffield), Liz Mann (Manchester), Airport Dad (Nottingham), Ross Stewart (Norwich), thistle. (London), and Knife Bride (Brighton).*

Tickets are £1, with all proceeds going directly to MVT, the national charity which acts to protect, secure, and improve the UK’s Grassroots Music Venues. Additionally, Fightback Lager supports the tour with donations from each pint sold going to MVT.

A proportion of tickets will be distributed by Tickets For Good, reaching NHS, staff, teachers, charity workers, volunteers and individuals affected by the cost of living crisis. Its platform ensures that access to live music isn’t limited by income or circumstance, supporting WaterBear’s mission to embed music education within the real-life, real-world infrastructure of the UK scene.

Greg Archer, Careers and Industry Manager, WaterBear Sheffield, says: “If venues disappear, so do the opportunities for bands, crew, the whole circuit. This is our ecosystem too—we’ve been working with local venues for years—putting on shows, helping them stay open, and giving students a proper understanding of what the industry really looks like. We’re proud to continue that with so many industry partnerships and support for emerging artists on the ‘Keeping Music Live’ tour.”

Bruce John Dickinson, WaterBear Co-founder, adds: “These venues aren’t just buildings—they’re launchpads. Go to the gig. Buy a ticket. Stand at the front. These places are everything for emerging artists, playing gigs, learning to handle a crowd, and making your name.” 

Adam Bushell, WaterBear Co-founder, comments: "You don’t go from your bedroom to a stadium. You need to play rooms where you mess up, learn what works, and find your sound. AI has its place, but it won’t replace the magic of a band in a room when it all clicks." 

WaterBear’s relationship with grassroots venues runs year-round
In Sheffield and Brighton, students perform midweek shows at local venues to help build footfall and offer support during quieter trading periods. The college supports these events financially by covering entry costs and, where possible, bar spend—making sure the venues benefit from both audiences and income. This model is central to WaterBear’s belief that education must be mutual, relevant and rooted in the real world. 
In Brighton, the college recently expanded with the launch of a second space: the WaterBear Music Bar on Manchester Street, joining the original WaterBear Venue as a hub for new artists to perform, collaborate and grow. 

MVT Annual Report 
According to MVT’s 2024 Annual Report, 125 grassroots venues closed in the previous year, making it the worst year on record, with an average of two closures per week. These spaces are being lost to rising costs, noise complaints, development pressure and a lack of coordinated industry support. The long-term impact of these closures is devastating for both artists and audiences. These are the places where bands cut their teeth, where sound engineers, promoters and future headliners learn their craft, and ensure communities have access to local, live music. 

For more information, visit waterbear.org.uk/keeping-music-live

Tickets available at linktr.ee/keepingmusiclivetour