The George Tavern is one of London’s most stubborn, beautiful grassroots spaces. For 21 years, owner Pauline Forster has fought off developers, licensing battles, and the odds - because she believes this venue should live.

That’s a huge number, and thanks to all the artists, their teams, and everyone behind the scenes pushing the initiative to happen. That’s 27.6% of big gig tickets on sale for next year, meaning there’s still 2.9million tickets not yet contributing to the levy in 2026 though.

Tomorrow (Saturday), come and join the month long festivities at The George Tavern. MVT CEO, Mark Davyd, is in conversation with Pauline, Georgia, and Scarlett Woolfe. 🎟️  Entry is free via: link.dice.fm/Z973e622e282...

FROM THE GRASSROOTS UP. Our new podcast series, The Last Safe Space, has just dropped its latest episode at youtu.be/-Pf188mAJvk. This is unprecedented, deep dive access to behind the scenes of MVT - what we're focused on, what the live music sector is doing, and how we're all working together.

These principles have long been the reality across grassroots venues and independent promoters. Now they’re being set out as the standard which the whole live music industry should follow. ⚠️ No Pay-to-Play. ⚠️ No merch cuts. ⚠️ Fairness at the core of every show.

Earlier this year, the Music Fans' Voice survey proved that music fans are not only invested in grassroots, they’re ready to speak up for it. Thousands of you filled it out, and the results were undeniable.

A massive thank you to everyone who joined us at the International Festival Forum last week - and especially to all the incredible live bands who tore it up at Omeara.

We want to say a huge thank you to The Last Dinner Party for donating £1 from every ticket sold to Music Venue Trust.

This is our new in-house space to dig deeper into what’s happening across grassroots music venues - straight from the frontlines. 📺 Watch first on YouTube at youtu.be/IkdH4tbQ9G0 before it lands on streaming platforms. Tune in, share, and be part of the conversation keeping live music alive.

Tonight we’re at the International Festival Forum, bringing our work to more of the teams helping shape the live music industry. 📸 by Jeanie Jean

Don't forget to join us at OMEARA tomorrow. We're there from 20:00 - 22:30 alongside the International Festival Forum (IFF), coming together to champion the future of live music. We've got an incredible handpicked lineup, and there's sure to be a few drinks... so come and find us to say hello!

50 years is no small thing. In fact, for a grassroots venue, it’s downright monumental. This month, our friends at The Met in Bury celebrate half a century of being at the heart of their community. That's five decades of live music, poetry, art, and countless stories within their walls.

Last year, MVT's Support Team stepped in to handle over 200 cases - from noise complaints and landlord challenges, to legal issues, licensing, and everything else you can think of. It’s one of the most vital things we do for our member venues - keeping them open, protected, and SUPPORTED.

🎧 MVT's new podcast: "The Last Safe Space" is now live across the usual streaming platforms you get your podcasts. We'll be talking about the frontlines of grassroots music venues and the live music sector with a range of special guests.

The Sound Lounge have been measured, constructive and inclusive in the way they have responded to recent events and this is their reward for that approach. Smashed windows, a closed business, frightened staff.

🚨 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘁 🚨 Music Venue Trust is proud to launch 'The Last Safe Space'. A no-nonsense, data-driven podcast bringing you the latest news from the grassroots music ecosystem. Episode 1: Licensing Breakthrough is OUT NOW! 📺 Watch + subscribe first on YouTube: bit.ly/MVTpodcast.

Download their application form at www.artscouncil.org.uk/supporting-a..., email it over to them, and you’re into the process. No portals, no mazes.

Sam Fender’s arena tour has just helped save and improve 38 grassroots music venues across the UK. That's thanks to £100,000 from ticket sales, distributed through the Liveline Fund, protecting spaces at risk of closure and giving vital upgrades to others. A HUGE thank you to Sam and his team!

Behind every gig you go to, there’s a venue operator trying to keep the doors open. And when things get tough - whether it’s a landlord dispute, a planning battle, spiralling bills, or any one of the other 200 cases we've seen over the last year - they don’t have to face it alone.

The Lab need your help! This is a brilliant community music and arts venue in Northampton. They've launched a Crowdfunder to help them continue providing a home for so many diverse and exciting communities in the Northampton area. 👉 Support: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/qr/YlbkOZw...

We're so excited to have ĠENN with us as new patrons of MVT. They’ll be stepping up with us at our @IFF.rocks showcase this September too. You’ll want to be there!

We don't care if it's your soulmate, your flatmate, your first kiss, or your future bandmate... So many of life’s biggest moments start in a grassroots music venue. If that's you - then join our Supporters Circle at: save-our-venues.backstreetmerch.com/collections/...

This is what a hero looks like. Hobbo has been running across the UK to raise money and awareness for grassroots music venues - and now you have a chance to show your appreciation by voting for him in the JustGiving Outstanding Commitment to a Cause award.

We headed to Sunderland to meet with our members - swapping stories, comparing battles, and hearing first-hand what’s needed to keep live music thriving here.

The Venue Support Team (VST) are the frontline of our charity - the people who step in when grassroots music venues across the UK face challenges they can’t overcome alone. 📸 Alfie Bungay

At a Coldplay show? Spot the QR code?… We have a fantastic interactive gig guide at www.MusicVenueTrust.com/Gig-Guide, listing shows across the UK in grassroots music venues. 👀 Go explore now and find your favourite new live act.

MPs have launched a fan-led review of live music - with an online survey, which you will find via: committees.parliament.uk/committee/37...

For @thequietus.com, Dan McCarthy explores how the century-old tradition of member-owned social clubs is offering a future for grassroots music venues - and how Music Venue Properties is scaling that model nationwide.

We’re proud to work alongside industry leaders like the International Festival Forum (IFF) to champion the future of live music.

We’re bringing the grassroots live music sector together like never before. Expression of Interest: bit.ly/gnd2025

Well, there you have it. The top brass has said it out loud. The £1 levy is on the table, in the press, and politically backed. So what are we waiting for? Seriously, what is the music industry waiting for? Via NME.

This is what the Prime Minister has told NME this week, acknowledging what we’ve been shouting about for over ten years: that grassroots venues aren’t just where live music happens, but where careers begin, and where lifelong memories are made.

A huge part of what we do is going out there across the country to meet up with venues, and have conversations about what we’re doing - the challenges, the successes, and more importantly listening to what they need.

Raising money for venues - whether through donations, crowdfunding, the levy, or the Live Fund - isn’t about charity. It’s about investing in venues and the teams behind them to make them stronger, smarter, and future-proof. 📸 by Bethan McConnell

Most venues aren’t built to grow empires - they’re built to grow people. They’re the places where strangers become friends. Where someone hears their future favourite song for the first time. Where a teenager stands in the crowd and sees who they might become.

This is what community looks like. The Railway Inn, Winchester is about to hit 100% of its fundraising target - a huge achievement in such a short space of time.

The Ground Up is a fantastic new Substack launched - featuring in-depth portraits of grassroots music venues across the UK, with behind-the-scenes stories and in-depth interviews with the people keeping these places alive. 📸 Larry J Photography

After years of relentless work by Music Venue Trust and our partners, the Government has accepted the majority of the recommendations from the Licensing Taskforce. That means real, tangible progress for grassroots music venues across the UK.

This is how it should work: Big gigs boost the economy, and that success is shared with the grassroots. Manchester City Council is setting aside almost £250,000 from this summer’s huge shows. #Manchester #Oasis #GrassrootsMusicvenues

UK artists are now 26% less likely to play festivals in Europe than before Brexit. As reported this week by the Independent and other sources. 📸 by Olivia Brytz

We’re proud to welcome six brilliant new patrons to Music Venue Trust. From Belfast to Aberdeenshire, Brighton to Bangor, these artists, organisers and advocates represent the communities we serve and the scenes that shaped them.

If the music industry doesn’t act now, the ticket levy will be made mandatory by government. But here’s the thing: We want artists and promoters of major shows to step up voluntarily.

Big news. The Royal Albert Hall has just become the first 5,000+ capacity arena to permanently adopt the £1 grassroots levy on all commercial rock and pop shows from October 2025 - a move that could raise £300,000 a year to support the foundations of the UK’s live music scene.

Can I be a very old git and say Misty In Roots and Squeeze at the much-missed Albany Empire in Deptford in the mid 70s (and I’m pretty sure Cafe Racer - later to be renamed as Dire Straits - appeared there a few times as well!).

Too many to name at the Wheatsheaf in Stoke, but including Oasis, Wreckless Eric, Fairport Convention, Geno Delafose, Wolfsbane, R Cajun, John Otway…

Metronomy at Tunbridge Wells Forum (a converted Victorian public toilet). Great little venue. They were booked just before they hit it big. By the time of the gig, they were selling out venues that hold thousands, rather than a couple of hundred. Hope they enjoyed it as much as we did.

Iron Maiden in Tiffany's nightclub, Edinburgh(now a block of flats), 1980. Cost me £2.00.

Not a headliner this summer, but I saw Muse at the Irish Centre in Birmingham, supporting 3 Colours Red.

A fair few to mention, but the most cautionary tale is Wolf Alice at The Registry in Portsmouth to about 50 people. The venue has shut and was then used as student halls instead. Still gutted.

My 1st visit to @theleadmill.bsky.social was for #TheThe , I believe it was a secret warm gig for Glasto that yr. The poster we saw was only A3 size & we only saw it because we was on our back from Torquay on the bus . I’d hate t think how many times I’ve bn t Leadmill since ! It will be missed !