Southampton’s Joiners will be one of 18 venues taking part in Independent Venue Week; an initiative set up to encourage small UK venues, it has been announced.
In a similar vein to Record Store Day which has provided a massive boost to independent music retailers, Independent Venue Week will involve a six-day series of gigs promoting new music in the selected venues.
The project has been encouraged by several musicians including Frank Turner and Radiohead drummer Phil Selway. Support during the event will come from BBC Radios 1, 2 and 6 Music alongside 40 regional stations.
Sybil Bell, the co-founder of Independent Venue Week said: “The struggle to compete with large, sponsor-backed venues makes it a tough and challenging time for independents. Combine this with bands finding it harder to tour due to limited revenues and rising on-the-road costs and we can all see what a difficult climate live venues find themselves in.”
Writing on their Facebook page, Joiners said “this is a great project for all small venues across the UK involved to raise awareness of the importance of live music at this level!”
Earlier this year, Joiners was named Britain’s Best Small Venue by NME Magazine.
Independent Venue Week will run from 28th January to 2nd February 2014.
