“It’s where the next generation of your favourite bands will come from”: Why it’s more important than ever to support independent venues

Frank Turner took a deep breath and stepped onto the stage at Clapham Grand in London, for the first gig in the capital without restrictions for 16 long, hard months. “There was a lot of tension beforehand because it was ​‘freedom day’ [July 19] and there was a lot of heat and froth on the internet,” Frank smiles. ​“But once the doors opened, it was a really euphoric moment and not a gig I’ll forget in a hurry. It was a very emotional evening.” Those scenes have been replicated all over the country as, slowly but surely, live music flickers back into life after an unprecedented hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic. As bands and fans alike joyfully log their first gigs since the lockdown, and mouth-watering tour bookings stretch to the end o...

unsplash-logoLilith Redmoon