Featuring live shows, a documentary, and more…
Much like all of our favourite haunts, there’s absolutely no pretence to Independent Venue Week. It just does what it says on the tin: specifically, celebrates and promotes the very best independent music venues across the length and breadth of this fair land.
Indeed, the good people at IVW have been championing new music and great spaces for years – and, frankly, thank God they have. They do amazing work, which is why we’re chuffed to bits that they’ve just announced a jam-packed schedule of gigs, talks and more as part of this year’s programme.
Here’s what they’ve got in store for us:
They’re putting on a load of shows with Steve Lamacq as part of the BBC 6 Music Homecoming Tour (27- 31 January 2020)
The BBC 6 Music Homecoming Tour will see Steve Lamacq take his BBC Radio 6 Music show to five UK cities, celebrating homegrown music venues and carting an array of special guests along with him along the way. He’ll be welcoming Nadine Shah to Newcastle’s The Cluny for a super-intimate show on Monday, January 27th, before bringing the likes of Anna Calvi, Frank Turner, Self Esteem, and Gruff Rhys to venues in London, Exeter, Sheffield, and Cardiff across the duration of his five-day run.
They’ve produced a documentary called ‘Long And Winding Road’
Filming began during IVW 2018 and continued through 2019 when the IVW team hit the road with Philip Selway – y’know, from Radiohead?- and visited a bunch of venues that were instrumental in the early days of the band.
Other famous faces included in the documentary include Nadine Shah, Nick Mason (from Pink Floyd), Gaz Coombes, IDLES and more, as well as #hotspots like the 100 Club, Moles in Bath, Leeds’ Brudenell Social Club, and Guildford’s Boileroom, and a bunch of other venues up and down the country.
So, where can you see it? Well, London’s Bush Hall will host the premiere on Tuesday 21st January, followed by a live Q&A with Steve Lamacq, Philip Selway, Adrian Utley, and a ton of other cool people. Oh, and both the documentary and Q&A will also be streamed live in selected venues across the UK.
It’s going to be epic.
They’ve compiled an Independent Venue Week Live 2019 album (and it’s coming out on January 24th)
It’s a vinyl-only live album, featuring a collection of standout acts from 2019’s Independent Venue Week (like Cancer Bats, John Paul, Pip Blom, and Public Service Broadcasting), as well as a veritable plethora of others).
And they’re sending legendary gig-goer Big Jeff out on tour…
That’s right, dear reader: Bristolian hero Jeffrey ‘Big Jeff’ Johns will be taking to the road to meet the communities around some of Britain’s best independent venues, with a focus on other gig-goers who also have additional needs. He’ll also be highlighting what it means to attend gigs as someone with a disability.