The 1975 lead singer Matty Healy has warned of musical “silence” should the pubs and bars that provide UK artists their first chances to perform shut down.
Healy is an ambassador for a new nationwide festival – the Seed Sounds Weekender – which will see more than 2,000 events taking place across more than 1,000 ‘seed’ venues in September.
The Seed Sounds Weekender aims to spotlight the seed music scene, the venues, and the artists who keep music alive in the UK.
It seeks to strengthen the pipeline from emerging to major artists, creating sustainable opportunities for artists and supporting the places – bars, pubs, restaurants, hotels – that support the future of UK music.
Healy warns of ‘silence’
“Local venues aren’t just where bands cut their teeth, they’re the foundation of any real culture,” Healy noted in a statement.
“Without them, you don’t get The Smiths, Amy Winehouse, or The 1975. You get silence.”
GigPig, the sponsor of Seed Sounds Weekender, highlighted in a statement of their own that small gigs and seed music venues that provide emerging artists their first platforms are essential for the broader music scene.
“Without those first stages for artists, there is no future pipeline,” said the press release.
“Festivals rely on artists who’ve cut their teeth somewhere. Record labels sign artists who’ve built confidence and followings gig by gig.
“Grassroots venues need acts who know how to handle a stage.
“Seed venues are where that journey begins. They’re the unsung heroes of the music industry.”
READ MORE: Concert tour news: Mariah Carey to return to Thailand for first time since 2018
Struggling grassroots music scene
More than 200 grassroots venues closed down or stopped offering live music in 2023 and 2024, according to the Music Venue Trust.
In 2024, the Culture, Media and Sport Committee called for a levy on tickets to large concerts at stadiums and arenas to help fund grassroots platforms, and venues such as the Royal Albert Hall have supported the initiative.
“The UK’s seed venues are where music careers are born,” GigPig co-founder Kit Muir-Rogers told Sky News.
“Collectively, this space promotes more music than any other in the live-music business, yet it has gone overlooked and under-appreciated.”
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Bollywood news: Indian film ‘SILAA’ to feature world’s largest known cave
Eugene Nicklaus S. Laqui 
Ian Trinidad