Image Credit: The Guardian

Independent Venue Community aims to strengthen the relationships between independent venues and the communities around them.

By offering daytime music-based programmes, Independent Venue Community aims to make make grassroots clubs more accessible and welcoming to their local neighbours and reach new audiences.

Underserved areas and those with low arts engagement will benefit from the programme. To achieve their mission, IVC’s wants to help venues connect people young, old, deaf, disabled and neurodivergent, LGBTQIA+ and other groups in a respective clubs’ community.

Furthermore, IVC aims to provide education on how venues work behind the scenes too.

IVC’s Soundcheck Sessions have been a big influence on the programme. Soundcheck Sessions allows young people aged 14 and older to access a venue before it opens ahead of a live show. Here, attendees can learn how things work behind the scenes and chat with the crew, artists and industry specialists before the gig.

IVC’s founder Sybil Bell has said “From first hand experience, with initiatives like The Warren Youth Project in Hull or our own Soundcheck Sessions and BE, activity like this can have genuinely life-changing outcomes for people, especially those who don’t normally get access to these kinds of opportunities.

“Ultimately, we want to build a national network of engaged local communities and encourage more music venues to throw their doors open in the day. By doing this, I believe they can increase and diversify the people coming through their doors and unlock significant hidden value and talent.”

When we were coming up, we were one of the only women and people of colour on the bills and in the crowd, a lot of the time. It was isolating and we were often met with confusion or rejection because of some people’s lack of education and experience. Music is for everyone. People should be given the same opportunities regardless of where they are from, their race or sexual orientation. Everyone should feel welcome and have a safe space to enjoy music freely.

Amy Love and Georgia South of Nova Twins, IVC ambassadors