RADAR Festival team up with Music Venue Trust to help support grassroots venues

Fresh from their work on Enter Shikari’s recent arena tour, the Music Venue Trust will be getting some more much-needed support from this year’s RADAR.

The Manchester festival – which takes place from July 26 – 28 at the Victoria Warehouse – have just announced that, going forwards, they’ll be donating a percentage of their ticket sales to the charity and their Pipeline Investment Fund to help support grassroots venues (a brilliant move given that 16 per cent of the UK’s venues have gone in the last year, and 38 per cent are operating at a loss).

“I’ve seen the journey in my own venue of young artists playing for the first time and stepping onto a small stage that they know has previously hosted artists that they admire and want to emulate,” says RADAR co-organiser Catherine Jackson-Smith, who also owns Alton’s The Lounge Bar. “Time and again I’ve watched these nervous artists blossom in confidence, ability and stature within the scene, waiting to be discovered by the masses. When that happens, they know how to interact with a crowd, how to control a room, pace their set and perform to the best of their abilities.

“These are all crafts that you can only develop with a small, raw audience that the grassroots music scene cultivates every night up and down the country. If we don’t protect the smaller venues then there isn’t a pipeline for the next headliners, and this ticking time bomb is something that the music industry can, and must, take action on."

“We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to RADAR Festival, for taking this bold step as the first festival to champion the Pipeline Investment Fund,” adds MVT CEO and founder Mark Davyd. “Their support is a strong commitment to the heart and soul of the UK's music scene, nurturing its roots through the vital network of Grassroots Music Venues.”

Check out the RADAR line-up below:

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