Grassroots music venues in Cardiff have been awarded close to £200,000 through a grassroots venues fund established by Cardiff Council.
The grants have enabled live music venues including Clwb Ifor Bach, Porters, Chapter Arts Centre, The New Moon, Paradise Garden, Acapela, Tiny Rebel and The Canopi to make improvements and buy essential new equipment.
The funding forms part of the local authority’s Cardiff Music City work to protect and develop the city’s music sector which has also seen a new talent development scheme launched in the city’s schools, the launch of a new ‘Academi’ for young musicians, and the first ever Cardiff Music City Festival take place.
One venue to receive a grant was The Canopi, a new grassroots venue and creative space on the ground floor of The Sustainable Studio on Tudor Street. Julia Harris, who runs the space in the Cardiff Council-owned former Transport Club, said: “One of the things that was really on my tick list was a space for grassroots music to happen, those first gigs that we need people to have, those first experiences of a supportive venue. So, we’re definitely one of those. We’re a starter space. We’ve had such an eclectic lineup of events so far and anything from say, RazKid to hip-hop spoken word, EP launches for folk artists, and immersive kind of band experiences. I feel like anyone can put on anything here. It’s kind of all worked and gone really well.
“Cardiff Council have just been instrumental in us getting open. I think we have tapped into some amazing grants that have allowed us to make the venue accessible and also buy new kit as well.”
The New Moon, which opened on Womanby Street earlier this year, was another new independent venue to receive a grant. Reem Mohammed, the venue’s Event Programmer, said: “Cardiff Council have been really, really amazing throughout this whole process. We have received a grant from them to help with equipment which has been incredible because when we opened the door we really wanted to have high quality equipment and sound for these musicians, so they’re really being showcased at their best, and without them we couldn’t have achieved that, so we’re very grateful.”
Non-profit social enterprise the Queer Emporium is a safe space for the LGBTQ community that also hosts events, with their bigger events for up to 100 people hosted in the Royal Arcade. Founder and Director, Yan White, said: “By getting the grant from Cardiff Council, it’s meant we’ve managed to massively upgrade our tech equipment for the events, which means if you come now, you’ll see that we have a full lit stage with lights that go up through the Arcade. It’s just sort of upgraded everything that we’ve managed to do, and we’re hoping that will result in more people coming in and using the space.”
Outside of the city centre, on Roath’s bustling City Road, Paradise Garden is another independent venue feeling the benefit of a grant. Co-founder of the venue, Esther Taylor, said: “The support we’ve had from Cardiff Council has been really good because we can buy equipment instead of renting it and it’s saved us a lot of money. It’s really helped us to expand the amount of live music that we do.”
Cabinet Member for Culture, Parks and Events, Cllr Jennifer Burke said: “We’re committed to supporting, developing and promoting Cardiff’s music sector. Grassroots venues play a critical role in the city’s music scene and these grants provide important financial support at a time when, like venues across the UK, they’re dealing with some significant challenges.
“We will continue to look for ways we can support venues, but the reality is we simply don’t have the finances or the power to step in every time a venue finds itself struggling. The best way to protect venues is to use them and I would encourage everybody to book a ticket to a gig at a local venue – you never know, you might discover your next favourite artist.”
The Grassroots Venues Fund was supported by the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund.
The full list of organisations supported is:
- Sustainable Studios/The Canopi
- Porters
- 4pi Productions
- Talent Shack
- Clwb Ifor Bach
- Acapela
- Tiny Rebel
- Brewhouse
- The Dock
- Chapter Arts Centre
- The New Moon
- Paradise Garden
- The Queer Emporium
- The Grange Pub
- Silkcrayon Studios
