The 1975 frontman Matty Healy has issued a grim warning of the musical “silence” that would come without the pubs and bars that give UK artists their first gigs as he backs a new UK-wide festival from Manchester live event platform GigPig.
Fresh from headlining Glastonbury in June, Healy is backing The Seed Sounds Weekender, which will see more than 2,000 gigs taking place across more than 1,000 “seed” venues in September.
The festival aims to celebrate the hospitality sector hosting bands and singers at the beginning of their careers.
Healy, who is an ambassador for the event, said: “Local venues aren’t just where bands cut their teeth, they’re the foundation of any real culture.
“Without them, you don’t get The Smiths, Amy Winehouse, or The 1975. You get silence.”
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GigPig, the live music marketplace behind Seed Sounds, says the seed sector collectively hosts more than three million gigs annually, supports more than 43,000 active musicians, and contributes an estimated £2.4bn to the UK economy.
“The erosion of funding for seed and grassroots spaces is part of a wider liberal tendency to strip away the socially democratic infrastructure that actually makes art possible,” Healy went on.
“What’s left is a cultural economy where only the privileged can afford to create, and where only immediately profitable art survives.”
He described the Seed Sounds Weekender as “a vital reminder that music doesn’t start in boardrooms or big arenas – it starts in back rooms, pubs, basements, and independent spaces run on love, grit, and belief in something bigger.”
The importance of funding for grassroots venues has been highlighted in the past few years, with more than 200 closing or stopping live music in 2023 and 2024, according to the Music Venue Trust. Sheffield’s Leadmill is just one Northern casualty, hosting its final gig in its current form in June after losing a long-running eviction battle, while Manchester’s Roadhouse also warrants a mention having sat empty on Newton Street since its owners were evicted almost 10 years ago.
In May, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy announced the £85m Creative Foundations Fund to support arts venues across England.
And last year, the Culture, Media and Sport Committee called for a levy on tickets to large concerts at stadiums and arenas to help fund grassroots venues, which artists including Coldplay and Katy Perry, and venues including the Royal Albert Hall, have backed.
But most seed venues – the smaller spaces that provide a platform before artists get to ticketed grassroots gigs or bigger stages – won’t qualify for the levy. GigPig is working to change this by formalising the seed music venue space as a recognised category.
“The UK’s seed venues are where music careers are born,” said GigPig co-founder Kit Muir-Rogers. “Collectively, this space promotes more music than any other in the live music business, yet it has gone overlooked and under-appreciated.”
The Seed Sounds Weekender takes place from 26-28 September and partners include Uber, Skiddle, UseYourLocal and the Night Time Industries Association. Attendees can access most gigs via a free Seed Sounds Weekender ticket. To ensure seamless access and remove transport barriers, ticket holders will receive discounted Uber rides to and from participating venues. Major hospitality players including Stonegate Group, Laine Pub Co., New World Trading Company, BrewDog, Diecast, Boom Battle Bars, Alberts Schloss, Stack, and Tokyo Industries are among the confirmed venues.
“We’re incredibly proud to partner with The Seed Sounds Weekender,” says Andrew Brem, UK General Manager for Uber. “These venues are vital cultural hubs, and enabling easier, safer access for music fans is a natural fit for Uber. It’s about supporting local communities and ensuring this incredible part of British culture continues to thrive, even through challenging times.”
Events are taking place across 20 UK towns and cities including Harrogate, Liverpool, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Sheffield, Sunderland, York, Glasgow and Newcastle.
