Music Venue Trust’s ‘Everywhere At Once’ Festival Unveils Expanded Line-up, Highlighting Crucial Role of Grassroots Venues Across the UK

The Music Venue Trust (MVT), a UK-registered charity dedicated to protecting, securing, and improving grassroots music venues (GMVs), has announced an expanded line-up for its ambitious ‘Everywhere At Once’ festival. This unique UK-wide celebration, designed to spotlight and support the nation’s vital smaller music venues, is scheduled to run from Friday, June 26th, to Sunday, June 28th. The three-day event will showcase an unprecedented scale of artistic talent, featuring over 2,000 artists performing across more than 400 venues spanning Scotland, England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

A Star-Studded Showcase for Grassroots Talent

The latest additions to the festival’s roster underscore its growing prominence and the widespread industry recognition of its mission. Headline performances have been confirmed from acclaimed DJs Fatboy Slim, D Double E, and P Money, injecting a significant electronic and grime presence into the diverse programme. These acts are joined by a varied array of artists including the iconic Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze, folk-pop sensation Lucy Spraggan, indie stalwarts Gene, and the rising star Westside Cowboy.

Specific performance details have begun to emerge, offering fans the opportunity to plan their festival experience. P Money is slated to perform at Birmingham’s Suki10c venue on the opening night, June 26th, promising an energetic start to the weekend in the heart of the Midlands. The following evening, June 27th, D Double E will command the stage at The Brickworks in Nottingham, bringing his distinctive sound to the East Midlands. Details surrounding Fatboy Slim’s highly anticipated appearance are expected to be announced closer to the festival weekend, building excitement for his contribution to the nationwide event.

These newly revealed artists will join an already impressive roster of talent that includes chart-toppers and genre pioneers. Previously announced acts for ‘Everywhere At Once’ events include Becky Hill, Tinie Tempah, Rizzle Kicks, Master Peace, Toddla T, JK Flesh, Afriquoi, Acid Reign, and Basshunter, among many others. This eclectic mix of established and emerging artists reflects the diverse musical landscape nurtured by grassroots venues and aims to attract a broad audience to experience live music in these intimate settings.

The Enduring Importance of Grassroots Venues

Fatboy Slim, a vocal advocate for the preservation of live music spaces, articulated the profound significance of the festival’s mission. In a press statement, he shared, "These spaces are vital for culture and for local communities, so if there’s anything I can do to help shine a light on them and help keep that spirit alive, I’m more than happy to be involved. And if you care about music, go out and support your local venues, buy a ticket, discover somebody new, and be part of keeping those scenes alive." His words resonate deeply within the music community, highlighting the intrinsic value of GMVs not just as performance spaces but as crucial cultural and social hubs.

Grassroots music venues are the lifeblood of the UK music industry, serving as the essential training ground for emerging artists, technicians, and industry professionals. They are the unfiltered stages where bands cut their teeth, develop their sound, and build a local following before potentially scaling to larger arenas. Beyond their role in artist development, these venues are integral to the cultural fabric of towns and cities, providing community spaces, fostering local economies, and offering diverse entertainment options.

Contextualising the Festival: A Response to Ongoing Challenges

The ‘Everywhere At Once’ festival takes on added significance this year as it purposefully coincides with what would typically be the weekend of the Glastonbury Festival. With Glastonbury observing a fallow year in 2026 – a traditional break taken by the festival to allow the land and local infrastructure to recover – ‘Everywhere At Once’ steps into a unique temporal void. This strategic timing offers a powerful opportunity to redirect national attention and audience engagement towards the smaller venues that underpin the entire live music ecosystem. It also provides a vital boost to these venues during a period when many music fans might otherwise be focused on a single large-scale event.

The festival’s robust support network further underscores its importance. It is championed by the Music Venue Trust itself, alongside significant contributions from The National Lottery, the Save Our Scene (SOS) campaign, and the Association of Independent Promoters (AIP). This collaborative effort from across the industry and public funding bodies reflects a unified understanding of the urgent need to protect and nurture the grassroots sector.

Music Venue Trust: A Decade of Advocacy and Action

The Music Venue Trust was established in 2014 in response to a growing crisis facing the UK’s independent music venues. Over the preceding decade, a significant number of these crucial cultural assets had been forced to close due to a myriad of pressures, including rising rents, punitive business rates, redevelopment, noise complaints, and licensing issues. MVT emerged as a dedicated voice, advocating for venues at local and national government levels, providing expert advice, and developing practical solutions to ensure their survival and prosperity.

In its relatively short history, MVT has achieved remarkable success. Its high-profile ‘Save Our Venues’ campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic garnered widespread public and celebrity support, raising millions of pounds and preventing countless venues from permanent closure. This campaign highlighted the precarious financial position many GMVs found themselves in, often operating on razor-thin margins.

Building on this legacy, MVT continues to innovate with initiatives designed to fortify the sector. This year, the charity launched the ‘RAISE THE STANDARD’ initiative, a critical programme aimed at funding essential equipment upgrades for grassroots venues. Many smaller venues operate with outdated or failing equipment, which can impact sound quality, artist experience, and even venue safety. ‘RAISE THE STANDARD’ seeks to address this, ensuring venues can offer professional-grade facilities. Furthermore, MVT has partnered in the launch of Ticket9, an "ethical" ticket resale platform. This initiative aims to combat ticket touting and ensure that tickets remain accessible and affordable for fans, with a portion of proceeds often directed back into supporting the venues themselves.

The MVT’s dedication extends beyond direct financial aid and infrastructure improvements. The Liveline Fund, which received support from Fatboy Slim’s son Woody Cook and the Truth Tribe collective’s nearly 200-mile walk to Glastonbury last summer, provides crucial mental health and well-being support for venue staff and artists. This holistic approach acknowledges that the challenges faced by the grassroots sector are multi-faceted, requiring comprehensive solutions that address both financial and human welfare aspects.

The Broader Economic and Cultural Impact

The vitality of grassroots music venues extends far beyond the stages they host. Economically, these venues contribute significantly to local economies. Each venue acts as an anchor, drawing audiences who then spend money on food, drinks, transportation, and potentially accommodation, benefiting local businesses. A 2023 report by UK Music highlighted that the live music sector contributed £1.1 billion to the UK economy in 2022, supporting 28,000 jobs. Grassroots venues, while individually smaller, collectively form the foundation of this economic engine. Their continued existence is therefore not just a cultural imperative but an economic one.

Culturally, GMVs are unparalleled incubators of diverse musical genres and artistic expression. They provide a platform for experimental music, niche genres, and local talent that might not find a home in larger, more commercially driven venues. This diversity is essential for the health and evolution of the UK’s vibrant music scene, ensuring a constant flow of new ideas and sounds. Losing these spaces would mean a significant narrowing of cultural offerings and a profound impact on local identity.

The ‘Everywhere At Once’ festival, by bringing renowned artists into these intimate spaces, creates a powerful symbiotic relationship. Established acts lend their star power and draw new audiences to venues they might not typically visit, introducing them to the unique atmosphere and the importance of these spaces. In return, the artists connect with their fanbase in a more personal setting, often reminiscing about their own beginnings in similar venues.

Chronology of Challenges and Resilience

The journey of the UK’s grassroots music venues has been marked by periods of both immense creativity and significant struggle.

• Pre-2000s: A relatively stable period, though venues always faced local pressures. The UK had a thriving network of independent venues.
• 2000s-2010s: The advent of digital music, coupled with rising property values and urban regeneration, began to put immense pressure on venues. Many iconic venues closed due to noise complaints from new residential developments or conversion to other uses.
• 2014: The Music Venue Trust is founded, galvanising a national response to the crisis. It began campaigning for the ‘Agent of Change’ principle (which places responsibility for mitigating noise on new developments, not existing venues), which was later enshrined in national planning policy.
• 2016-2019: MVT’s advocacy begins to yield results, with increased awareness and some policy changes, but venue closures continue at an alarming rate.
• 2020-2021: The COVID-19 pandemic poses an existential threat. The ‘Save Our Venues’ campaign, supported by the government’s Cultural Recovery Fund, provides a lifeline, preventing mass closures.
• 2022-Present: Post-pandemic recovery is slow. The cost of living crisis, soaring energy prices, and increasing operational costs present new challenges. Audience habits have also shifted, making consistent attendance more unpredictable. MVT continues its vital work with initiatives like ‘RAISE THE STANDARD’ and ‘Ticket9’.
• June 2026: ‘Everywhere At Once’ festival becomes a flagship event, uniting artists and audiences in a collective show of support, strategically positioned during Glastonbury’s fallow year to maximise impact.

A Call to Action for Music Lovers

The ‘Everywhere At Once’ festival is more than just a series of concerts; it is a powerful statement of solidarity and a crucial call to action. It serves as a stark reminder that the vibrant, diverse music scene we cherish is dependent on the health of its grassroots foundations. The opportunity to witness world-class talent in intimate settings, while directly contributing to the sustainability of these vital cultural spaces, is a rare and invaluable one.

For those eager to participate, details on events taking place near them are readily available on the official ‘Everywhere At Once’ website. By purchasing a ticket, discovering a new artist, or simply experiencing the unique atmosphere of a local grassroots venue, audiences become active participants in preserving the future of live music in the UK. The festival embodies the spirit of collective action, demonstrating that with support from artists, industry, and most importantly, the public, the UK’s irreplaceable grassroots music venues can continue to thrive for generations to come.