UK towns with a healthy live music scene?

[xgsjx]

10 hours ago, gjones said:

Hasn't Perth got a music college? I know a lot of musicians that started off there. I would have thought there would have been a healthy live music scene up there.

It's got a college that has a music department.

The music scene from 4 years + ago was meh.  There's the Twa Tams, which is probably the only actual music venue.  The Green Room is advertised as a music venue, but it's been pretty dead whenever I went.

 

Dundee on the other hand, seems to have a great music scene.

[Silvia Bluejay]

I live in London, so no point in listing music opportunities here, and the OP correctly excludes big towns from this thread. To me, however, at this stage in the thread, the next question is - how many of those pubs and clubs in the lively/healthy music scenes you mention pay the band a reasonable fee?

 

As we, as a country, descend into austerity/recession/downright poverty, I'm noticing that even successful venues are absolutely penny pinching and some are offering bands what we consider a ridiculously low fee. We have turned down a few offers because they were well below our minimum fee, and we've received enquiries that quickly faded away as soon as we mentioned our minimum fee. That's all right by us - we're not desperate and there are still plenty of venues who recognise the quality of the band and are willing to pay more to have us.

 

We're not the kind of band who don't get out of bed for less than $10,000. We set our minimum fee so that we can pay for the petrol and end up with a little money to justify the whole exercise, but nobody's getting rich. And of course, a band's minimum fee for London and the Home Counties will probably have to be higher than elsewhere in the country due to higher costs all around (that's why I'm not mentioning actual numbers).

 

However, I find the trend very worrying. So what's the situation in your thriving areas? Are bands undercutting each other in order to play? Is the scene healthy enough to pay every band acceptably for a gig?

[Leonard Smalls]

14 hours ago, Sonic_Groove said:

This is so sad.

Indeed!

It's gone downhill; I used to book bands for the Greenman Fest in Clun - we had all sorts of stuff, from Wilko Johnson to the Oysterband. But there was always trouble with the Memorial Hall committee; they insisted we used the 86dB limiter (we attached a single 60w lightbulb to it, which flashed repeatedly, but we'd used a spare way in the consumer unit to run a 12mm feed to power the 20kW PA and lights), and when Wilko played, we went to make them some food in the Hall's kitchen - the committee had chained shut the cupboards so we couldn't use their plates!

In The Castle, there's only really The Vaults, but the landlord will only allow straight ahead pub blues; 3 Tuns always had great reggae, but that's gone - food more profitable I spose!

Knighton used to have a great scene - back in the 60s/70s there was a festival with seriously big names, but barring Chas and Dave and 15 years ago (sold out), Ade Edmondson's Bad Shepherds (put on by me, 3/4 full), and 2 attempts by me and our drummer at a 3 band rock night in the Comm (some quality bands, including Troy Redfern, 50 people came resulting in £200 loss).

It seems that folks round here aren't interested in going to gigs unless they already know the songs but won't pay any money to see 'em. This attitude was illustrated about 5 years ago, when the Horse and Jockey in Knighton put on a Dutch prog band (Sky Architect) in the bar (no idea why!). They were completely awesome; tight as, incredible musicians etc but despite not being very loud, the local drink crew just stayed outside blatherin' to the same folks they blathered to day in, day out. One bloke actually asked me what they were like - I said they're great but he wasn't willing to stand and watch for a moment to see. As a result they had an audience of 8 - our band, 2 bar staff and one other bloke.

Not only that, but there's a young farmer-type contingent who like to drink as much as poss then punch anyone nearby in the face.

So we don't even bother to try and gig locally...

[Leonard Smalls]

1 hour ago, lurksalot said:

Chester isn’t too bad at the minute

There were bands on when I was a young punkist there as well; I remember blagging into the Albion to see the WSS and the Jiving Daleks ("yeah, I'm 18 mister!"), then there was a memorable punk and mod gig at the Gateway with The Modernaires (big punch up, IIRC), and a certain Action Transfers at Angels Nite Club. There was also Echo and the Bunnymen at the arts centre, and the Sex Pistols played Quaintways! Shame the Live Rooms weren't there then as well.

[lurksalot]

2 minutes ago, Leonard Smalls said:

There were bands on when I was a young punkist there as well; I remember blagging into the Albion to see the WSS and the Jiving Daleks ("yeah, I'm 18 mister!"), then there was a memorable punk and mod gig at the Gateway with The Modernaires (big punch up, IIRC), and a certain Action Transfers at Angels Nite Club. There was also Echo and the Bunnymen at the arts centre, and the Sex Pistols played Quaintways! Shame the Live Rooms weren't there then as well.

I’d forgot about the arts centre ! A proper dive that one ! 
 Quaintways was always on the circuit by all counts , my sisters are a few years older than me and saw the big Liverpool bands of the time and the stones, quo, Roxy music and the like.

I did see the AT ‘s a few times as I recall 😂, I recognise one of those Shrewsbury venues upthread as an AT’s gig 

[gary mac]

21 hours ago, Sparky Mark said:

Are you lucky enough to live in a UK town that has a great live music scene? Large towns and cities excluded, where else is there that encourages local musicians to get involved?

For example, Hertford is pretty good with several live music venues for local musicians and bands of all abilities to perform as well as a couple of decent music festivals.

 

 

Hoddesdon, virtually next door to Hertford has a very lively scene, at least five pubs with bands every weekend.

[Happy Jack]

Most of the small-ish towns to the north/west of London seem to have just one or two 'proper' music venues - I'm talking about Slough & Maidenhead, Amersham & Chesham, Watford & Berkhamsted, Hatfield & Welwyn GC. Some do slightly better than that (High Wycombe springs to mind) but the absolute stand-out is St. Albans.

 

That town seems to have as many music venues as the rest of Hertforshire put together, but every band for 50 miles wants to play there so the competition is unreal. On principle, I never waste my time seeking gigs in St. Albans. 🙄

 

[lownote]

46 minutes ago, Silvia Bluejay said:

I live in London, so no point in listing music opportunities here, and the OP correctly excludes big towns from this thread. To me, however, at this stage in the thread, the next question is - how many of those pubs and clubs in the lively/healthy music scenes you mention pay the band a reasonable fee?

 

Here in small town / coastal resort East Anglia, pubs almost universally pay £250-300 for gigging bands. Some bands may get more if they're good enough to carry with them/pull in strong audiences. 

[Silvia Bluejay]

4 minutes ago, lownote said:

Here in small town / coastal resort East Anglia, pubs almost universally pay £250-300 for gigging bands. Some bands may get more if they're good enough to carry with them/pull in strong audiences. 

That sounds like a decent fee for a non-London location. Encouraging.

[Muppet]

16 hours ago, King Tut said:

Milton Keynes. We’ve got the Theatre for watching shows, The Stables for tributes and heritage acts and The Craufurd Arms for younger stuff and touring rock acts. Stony Stratford, which is part of MK has a thriving folk scene and three or four pubs that regularly have gigs and open mics. There’s also various estate pubs that have bands and some pubs in the older parts that have been swallowed up by the city, Newport Pagnell and Fenny Stratford come to mind. We’re also only half an hour from Northampton and Bedford so yeah, a good place to be. 

For a reasonably sized City (rather than a town) I've always been disappointed by Milton Keynes. It's size and location should make it a prime location for live music but I don't think it's anywhere near as good as it should be. The Stables is well attended but mainly by the over 50s, MK11 and The Craufurd don't get nearly the footfall that they should. It doesn't get the touring bands that Oxford or Northampton or even Bedford get and the pub covers scene is scattered around the villages.  It could be so much more..

 

[Woodinblack]

12 hours ago, JapanAxe said:

Swindon has a lot of pub gigs going on. Whether the scene is healthy is another matter. There are a growing number of solo acts with backing tracks - boring, boring, boring.

 

Yeovil has lost a lot of venues, but there are loads in the surrounding villages so doing ok.

But as you say, in yeovil there are a lot of solo acoustic acts and stuff (not normally backing tracks), so if you do or like those, it is probably pretty good. Not my sort of thing.

 

1 hour ago, Silvia Bluejay said:

To me, however, at this stage in the thread, the next question is - how many of those pubs and clubs in the lively/healthy music scenes you mention pay the band a reasonable fee?

 

Actually since coming out of lockdown our average money has gone up, it used to be £250-300 (which is the amount which didn't change over the last decade) and it has gone to £300-350 average, which  we are good with.

[Crusoe]

I don't go out in Belfast often, these days, but as far as I can see the live music scene seems to be picking up. There are the established venues, like The Limelight, but in recent years venues like Voodoo, The Dears Head, The American Bar and The Sunflower have been hosting live music.

[Tim2291]

Most of Portsmouth and the surrounding areas is becoming more and more rubbish. The town itself, if you aren't "in" with a certain promoter then you won't be getting anything, that includes most pubs. Outside the city, the pubs are just dying regardless of music. Go in there on a non band night and there's only 3 people, go in on a band night and its usually slightly better but not by much. I don't think the promoters and owners help much as they don't seem to advertise or stay up to date with social media etc.

 

 

[neepheid]

Hmph, don't get me started on "promoters"

[Tim2291]

5 minutes ago, neepheid said:

Hmph, don't get me started on "promoters"

Frustrating aren't they! Nobody seems to actually "promote" any more, it is expected that the musicians do that work as well despite their job title literally saying they should be doing it.

[casapete]

3 hours ago, lownote said:

Here in small town / coastal resort East Anglia, pubs almost universally pay £250-300 for gigging bands. Some bands may get more if they're good enough to carry with them/pull in strong audiences. 

That sounds like the same as here in East Yorkshire, where bands can expect similar fees

if they are a draw.

Having said that, I remember earning the same amount 15+ years ago on such gigs!

It’s one of those situations where you can see both sides - a pub has to 

make a profit, and because most bands are either amateur or semi pro ( however you 

define that...) then they assume you’re doing it primarily for enjoyment rather than for

the money which is probably how it is. Nothing wrong with that of course, but with the

massive rise in energy prices and potentially fewer people leaving home to drink a few

£7 pints whilst watching a band, it’s not looking likely to rise anytime soon.

[martthebass]

4 hours ago, lownote said:

Here in small town / coastal resort East Anglia, pubs almost universally pay £250-300 for gigging bands. Some bands may get more if they're good enough to carry with them/pull in strong audiences. 

 

I'd say that's similar up here in the Yorkshire north for a decent covers/tribute band.  Band prices have had to go up due to fuel etc and the better venues recognise this.  On the club circuit/agent work it tends to be anywhere up to £5-600 if the band can bring in some punters/has a good rep but a lot of these venues are now struggling so I can see a drop off on the horizon.

[Lozz196]

4 hours ago, Muppet said:

For a reasonably sized City (rather than a town) I've always been disappointed by Milton Keynes. It's size and location should make it a prime location for live music but I don't think it's anywhere near as good as it should be. The Stables is well attended but mainly by the over 50s, MK11 and The Craufurd don't get nearly the footfall that they should. It doesn't get the touring bands that Oxford or Northampton or even Bedford get and the pub covers scene is scattered around the villages.  It could be so much more..

 

Yep both MK11 and The Craufurd are good venues - a lot of money been put into The Craufurd over the last few years, and I`ve seen a few fairly well known bands there but you`re right, both should be getting more than they currently do.

[tauzero]

On 30/10/2022 at 12:55, T-Bay said:

Tamworth and Lichfield are pretty good, although both have lost brilliant venues since Covid.

 

Tamworth lost some excellent venues well before Covid. Tamworth Arts Centre, Casa Bar, Rockwells, Tavern in the Town. The Rock Festival ran for many years but eventually died.

[uk_lefty]

On 31/10/2022 at 09:09, gary mac said:

Hoddesdon, virtually next door to Hertford has a very lively scene, at least five pubs with bands every weekend.

The George III is great, especially their festival "Georgefest"!  The landlord has put loads into making it as easy as possible for bands to get in and play with the stage setup and PA. Always a good night in there!

[chris_b]

On 30/10/2022 at 12:02, Sparky Mark said:

Are you lucky enough to live in a UK town that has a great live music scene? Large towns and cities excluded, where else is there that encourages local musicians to get involved?

For example, Hertford is pretty good with several live music venues for local musicians and bands of all abilities to perform as well as a couple of decent music festivals.

 

Why exclude cities?

Don't assume London is just one entity. It's a collection of small towns. Some of those towns have a healthy music scene and some don't.

[Sparky Mark]

2 hours ago, chris_b said:

 

Why exclude cities?

Don't assume London is just one entity. It's a collection of small towns. Some of those towns have a healthy music scene and some don't.

Because, I'd prefer to retire to somewhere a little more rural than within the M25. I was born 60 years ago in North London, grew up in West London, studied in Central London and now have property in South London. Cities are great but I would just like to hear about other options for my twilight years.

Oh, and property in London is too expensive for what you get IMO, IME, etc, etc. 

Edited November 2, 2022 by Sparky Mark

[SuperSeagull]

On 31/10/2022 at 09:39, lownote said:

Here in small town / coastal resort East Anglia, pubs almost universally pay £250-300 for gigging bands. Some bands may get more if they're good enough to carry with them/pull in strong audiences. 

That’s what we get in and around Crawley in West Sussex. Doesn’t go far when you are a 6 piece 🙁

[Sparky Mark]

3 minutes ago, SuperSeagull said:

That’s what we get in and around Crawley in West Sussex. Doesn’t go far when you are a 6 piece 🙁

I'm thankful that music has always been a hobby for me. There aren't  many hobbies where you can meet up with some mates, have a few hours fun and end up with more money in your pocket than you started with. However, as a matter of principle, other than those for worthy causes, I choose not to play unpaid gigs. 

[Linus27]

On 31/10/2022 at 11:25, Tim2291 said:

Most of Portsmouth and the surrounding areas is becoming more and more rubbish. The town itself, if you aren't "in" with a certain promoter then you won't be getting anything, that includes most pubs. Outside the city, the pubs are just dying regardless of music. Go in there on a non band night and there's only 3 people, go in on a band night and its usually slightly better but not by much. I don't think the promoters and owners help much as they don't seem to advertise or stay up to date with social media etc.

 

 

 

Guildford is like that as well.