More than 1,000 pubs, bars and restaurants in the UK will host concerts as part of a new nationwide festival supported by 1975 Matty Heli, which has warned of drying talent pipeline.
The frontman said in a statement, “Local places are not just where bands cut their teeth, they are the foundations of any real culture.”
“Without them, you don’t get Smith, Amy Winehouse or 1975. You get silence.”
Seed sounds will be in small “seed” locations in September, where many big names begin. The organizers stated that most of the UK’s nightlife view, they are facing “unprecedented economic challenges”.
He gave the example of seed places including The Grapes Pub in Sheffield, where Arctic monkeys started their debut; Harrow, Rener’s Hotel in North-West London, where Amy Winehouse played her first show; Buffalo Bar in Cardiff, who hosted an early Edel Gig; And the Castle Hotel in Manchester, where 1975 appeared.
The co-founder of the Kit Muir-Roshers, the Live Music platform Gigapig, who is organizing the festival, said that it would “be a moment to unite and celebrate one that we think that we think that is the most exciting and perhaps the most important step on an artist’s journey”.
“The reality is that it is a challenging time for the hospitality region, and it is a challenging time as an artist,” he told the BBC.
According to the British Beer and Pub Association, more than 370 pubs are expected to be closed in 2025, blaming high taxes and bills.
Mark Connor, Head of Operations for the head of Steam Pub Chen, whose lead Newcastle Venue hosted early shows by 1975 and Arctic monkeys said that live music is “significantly important to us in a challenging time”.
“It actively brings people to our places, and it helps them to stay longer, receive the second or third drink that is important for all businesses,” he said.
The dedicated ground-level music sites have been vocal about their importance and the risks faced by them, but the pubs and other places on the first rung of live music ladder have been reduced so far, according to Mr. Muir-Razors.
“Nobody has really drawn it under a banner. It is never really called anything.
“Now it is widely called seed music and seed venue, which actually paints the picture incredibly well – you plant the first seeds that develop them in tomorrow’s Glastonbury headliner.”
Heli, whose band, has graduated to headline Glastonbury this year from playing pubs and clubs in the early 2010s, not performing in the new program, but is its ambassador.
His statement said: “The erosion of money for seeds and ground level places is part of a comprehensive liberal tendency to remove socially democratic infrastructure that actually makes art possible.
“What is left is a cultural economy where only privileges can be obtained, and where only profitable art survives.
“The Seed Sounds Cereakandndar is an important reminder that does not begin in the music boardroom or large eranus; it begins in back rooms, pubs, basements, and independent places, which move on faith in love, patience and something large.”
Seed sounds will be from 26-28 September.
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