Singer Becky Hill says venue closures leave young people isolated
The 'Lose Control' singers been speaking about the loss of music venues as she prepares to perform at a festival supporting them this weekend.
Last updated 17 hours ago
Becky Hill says she thinks the decline of grassroots music venues has changed the way young people socialise, as she prepares to headline a festival supporting venues:
"There isn't the venues for people to go to. People don't have the money to go out anymore. And I think people are much more satisfied with staying in and listening to music at home and not going out."
The singer from Bewdley, Worcestershire, has described how, when she started going out, there were already fewer clubs and venues, but today's young people face even fewer options:
"Rainbow Warehouse in Birmingham had shut down. All of the clubs that my brother used to go out to in Birmingham had kind of gone. Air, Custard Factory. I used to go to Fire and Cable, which is now shut down. I always tried to go out to venues and clubs and bars, but they're dwindling massively."
Social Media Ban
Becky Hill says this lack of places to go out to experience live gigs is making people more isolated, with many choosing to stay at home and listen to music instead of going out.
But she's hopeful young people will still find ways to create their own music scenes somehow:
"I know the social media ban feels so big for 16 and unders right now.
"But there is so many opportunities to create those nights out, even just for youth clubs and after school activities and going and hanging out in the park and playing guitar.
"And and I think there's so many, there's so many opportunities now to go and create that community that you experience online in real life."
Becky says these grassroots venues are a big part of UK culture:
"For me, clubs, pubs, bars, open mics, grassroot venues, big clubs, small clubs, they are what makes our culture so rich.
"For me, British culture is all about that. It's about The Hacienda in Manchester. It was about the Beatles being from Liverpool. It was, it's about Sub Club in Glasgow. It's about Gatecrasher in Birmingham. Like these places were legendary of the cities that they were from."
Supporting Grassroots venues
This weekend Becky Hill is one of the headliners at the largest grassroots music festival, Everywhere At Once, with events set to take place in over 400 venues nationwide.
Scheduled for the 26th to 28th June, and supported by The National Lottery and Music Venue Trust, the festival will also feature performances by big names such as Fatboy Slim, Rizzle Kicks, Tinie Tempah, and many others, along with emerging talents.
The National Lottery has played a role in supporting venues, contributing over £1 billion to music projects nationwide, including the festival and enabling venues and promoters to showcase new artists.
Full details about the festival and gig listings can be found at www.everywherefest.com