Small venues are where nearly every musician starts out. But they are closing at an alarming rate. Ben Austin reports.

Nothing beats live music. Waiting all day in lines with like-minded people waiting to catch a glimpse of the artist you have been waiting to see for months.

For the bands too it’s a way to see the impact their songs have on people and interact with the crowds.

Some of the best places to seek out up-and-coming artists are smaller grassroots venues. But they are under threat.

Historically, bands like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Ed Sheeran would work their way through clubs earning a reputation for themselves before earning a record deal.

In an interview with FreeNow, the Suffolk singer/songwriter said: "Like so many musicians, I started out playing in grassroots music venues.

“They are such a vital part of the music ecosystem. Without them, I definitely would not have had the chance to hone my craft and become the artist I am today.”

But, unfortunately, these types of places are dying out.

In a study by the Music Venue Trust (MVT) between September 2022 and September 2023, more than 15% of grassroots theatres had closed.

Listed in the 125 venues lost were two from Kent: Bramley’s Bar in Canterbury and the Royal Function Rooms and The Billabong Club in Rochester.

The former claimed their downfall was partly due to financial difficulties brought on by the pandemic as well as a legal battle against noise complaints, while the latter never explained the reason for its closure.

The charity laid out several reasons why such locations may be falling by the wayside including the impact of Covid 19, noise complaints, and rises in running costs.

The loss of venues has a knock-on effect on the local economy with 4,000 jobs predicted to have been lost and around £59 million in economic activity gone as well.

However, with every story of yet another location shutting down, there’s another looking to buck the trend.

Leo’s Red Lion in Northfleet, Gravesend, and The Forum in Tunbridge Wells are two such venues that are keeping the magic of grassroots music alive.

Owner Terry Lee has held live music at the Red Lion since 1978.

Now 72, the Gravesend-born businessman has been involved with the music industry since he was 18.

Some big artists today can say they played at the venue, with Iron Maiden probably being the pick of the bunch.

Even recently the band's bassist Steve Harris visited the venue to watch one of his favourite groups, Stray, who were playing at the time.

Speaking about grassroots venues, Terry said: “It’s important places like ours stay open.

“They're paramount. If you carry on doing away with these small venues it will have a massive impact on the music industry.

“Rewind to the 60s and all bands would use these kinds of venues and look at what it did to the British music industry – it thrived in the coming decades.

“It could be said that without the Red Lion there would be a lot of bands you wouldn’t have heard about.

“If you even look now in the last 10, 15 years we’ve had bands here you only see in big venues now.”

Terry explained it is his passion for live music that has been the main factor for his business remaining as strong as it has since he started hosting bands 45 years ago.

He continued: “It’s not been plain sailing with a couple of issues between 1997 to 2005. Some tried hard to close us down.

“But people are very grateful we have been able to continue.

They’re paramount. If you carry on doing away with these small venues it will have a massive impact on the music industry

“If a venue is owned by someone like me who loves the music industry, then you might be alright but if someone can be bought then you may lose your venue.

“The thing is once it’s gone you never get them back again.

“Pubs are now becoming music venues and it's ok them doing that but it’s not a venue; we need somewhere between them and an arena.

“Outside Camden, there aren’t many places to go which is why places like this are even more important.”

Steve Harris’s hard rock band British Lion played a gig on January 21 and The Karma Effect played on January 27. Coming up is Bad Touch on February 24.

The Forum is another venue that is well known for hosting grassroots events.

It started out as a roaming band night known as the Rumble Club, with nights being hosted at a number of locations across Tunbridge Wells.

It would set up camp at YMCA and Scout sheds, among other places, in the 80s and 90s before finding its now permanent home on January 15, 1993, in a disused council-owned public toilet.

It was founded by a group of teenage artists looking to put on their own nights. They published their own magazine to promote the events.

Eventually, other bands began booking out nights of their own and over time it grew a reputation to the one it has today.

A spokesperson for the venue said: “A band’s tour around the grassroots music venues of the UK was for a long time referred to as the Toilet Circuit and, being a former council-owned public toilet building, The Forum was the very realisation of that phrase.

Grassroots Music Venues are places designed to invest in developing talent.

“The Music Venue Trust – formed by one of the founders of the venue – worked hard to change the way these types of venues were seen and one of those was to highlight what these venues actually represent.

“The intention of the venue is not to be a bar with bands playing, it’s a performance space where drinks are served.”

The non-profit venue has seen much success in the past and has hosted artists who have gone on to make big names of themselves including the likes of Adele, Coldplay, Biffy Clyro and Oasis.

Rag’n’Bone Man also graced the venue in January last year while Frank Turner performed in the venue’s 30-year anniversary celebrations.

The spokesperson continued: “Grassroots music venues are places designed to invest in developing talent.

“The Forum has a limited capacity – 250 people – with events dedicated to under-18s musicians, local emerging bands and also to lesser-known touring artists.

“Not only the musicians but also a lot of the staff have gone on to greater careers in the live music, recording, broadcast and record label industries.

“We endeavour to be a place where musicians see they can develop their talent and performance skills.

“We try to keep strong ties with local music promotors and other venues, schools and music schools to strengthen this.

“We have recently added a third-party music school to use the space for lessons.

“We are heavily involved with the Music Venue Trust which is a community of over 800 similar grassroots music venues.”

In March last year, the Music Venue Trust gave the venue a £4,000 grant for “futureproofing” upgrades and replacement equipment.

This month The Forum is holding its Grassroots Venue month with a whole host of artists taking part, including Shaun Williamson who played Barry in EastEnders who has sold out two nights of his show Barrioke.