• Official venue sign up opens today for IVW 

• Fans are encouraged to show their love by wearing a venue T-shirt this Friday 9th Aug and share photos online #VenueTShirtDay

• A 12th edition of the much-loved national 7-day celebration will kick off on Monday 27th January 2025

Marking the return of Independent Venue Week (IVW), music fans, artists and live music professionals are being encouraged to wear a venue T-shirt this coming Friday (August 9th) and share their photos with the hashtag #VenueTShirtDay.  

IVW is the long-running 7-day celebration of independent music and arts venues and the people that own, run and work in them.

The event will return in 2025 for its 12th edition between Monday 27th January and Sunday 2nd February, with hundreds of venues expected to take part up and down the UK, encouraging fans to come out in the depths of winter, show support for their local scene, and enjoy a live gig or show.

Venues can sign up for IVW 2025 today at: www.independentvenueweek.com/uk/venues 

Using the innovative communications platform loadin.com for a 5th year, IVW is able to link venues with an initial list of over 50 artists looking for shows, either via their agent or management. 

New for this year, IVW will also be working with the groundbreaking fan engagement platform Openstage, to capture and grow their fanbase and offer partners direct links to passionate gig-goers that celebrate IVW and support artists and venues throughout the year. 

In 2024, 205 independent venues took part in IVW, hosting a vast range of events, led by shows from our brilliant artist ambassadors English Teacher (recently nominated for the Mercury Prize), Brooke Combe and L E M F R E C K. 

With support from BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Music Introducing, the week also saw DJ’s Huw Stephens and Steve Lamacq go “on the road” for a tour of five UK venues where they broadcast special performances from artists including Ash, 86TVs, NewDad, Antony Szmierek and Problem Patterns. 

IVW’s importance to live music culture was highlighted in a special 10 yearImpact Report, published in 2023. 

Since launching in 2014, more than 1m tickets have been sold for IVW events. 

Commenting on 2025’s return, IVW Founderand CEO Sybil Bell said: “We are so happy to announce the return of Independent Venue Week for 2025. Every year, we look at news ways  to shine a spotlight on these brilliant cultural spaces, highlighting their vital importance in sustaining the UK’s music culture and ecosystem at a local level, as well as celebrating the brilliant people who run, work and perform in them as well as those that come to enjoy amazing nights out with friends.

“It’s exciting to be opening sign-up today for the 12th consecutive IVW. We wanted to mark this moment by asking everyone to show some love by wearing a T-shirt from their nearest or favourite independent venue. And if you don’t have a T-shirt, please go and buy one - let a venue know how much you appreciate what they do, and then post your photos online with the hashtag #VenueTshirtDay.”

Further details about Independent Venue Week can be found at our website.