Independent Venue Week 2025 Round-Up

Written by Sadie Rycraft

Photo by Alex Gittins

Last week marked Independent Venue Week, the annual celebration of grassroots venues across the UK. We celebrated with five gigs across our three venues, shining a light on the vital role independent spaces play in the music industry. We've been involved with IVW since 2018, and championing these venues has never felt more important.

Kicking Off at The Smokehouse

The first gig of 2025 at The Smokehouse saw Home Counties take the stage - and with a sold-out crowd in January, no less! We’re incredibly grateful for such huge support, especially in what can be a tough month.

Beyond the music, we also debuted our new can-only bar! This setup makes it cheaper and easier to run, meaning more resources can go into supporting live music. It also offers entry-level training, a wider drinks selection, and more space.

Dan Baxter, a gig attendee, shared his experience:
"On a dark, wet and squally Tuesday evening (it is January!) I picked my pal Joe up and I must admit we wondered WTF we were doing! The drive across to Ipswich was as treacherous as I thought it would be. But the funk and hip-hop-influenced boundless energy of the support act PleasureInc. hit us in the face and complimented the wry and quirky sounds of the Headliners perfectly. I’ve been a fan of Home Counties since the release of their EP ‘Redevelopment’ in 2020 and it was a joy to see them in one of the smallest live music spaces (this is a great thing) in the East. What The Smokehouse lacks in size it more than makes up for in sound quality. Joe and I left the night buzzing and glad we’d ventured out in the darkness for a little slice of musical joy and colour. Please support your local grassroots music venues, they need us, we need them (I certainly do) and artists need them."

Ash Mason, Lighting Engineer for the show, added:
"Supporting independent venues by being on the crew is a must for anyone aspiring to work in the industry and if you’re based in Ipswich, working with BTC is a huge way to start that! Home Counties were fantastic and very entertaining, brilliant stage presence, and great performance aspect. PleasureInc. were also incredible! Which is also a plus about working in smaller venues, you get to experience new music!"

Friday 31st – A Night of Experimental Soundscapes & Emerging Talent

The second IVW gig of the week at The Smokehouse featured a killer lineup of electronica and experimental artists, including Diacritical Mark, Mawhrin Skel, For Nika, Anrufen, There Are No Birds Here, and Matt Rose.

Ahead of the gig, we caught up with Andrew Culture (aka Mawhrin Skel):
"As a musician, Independent Venue Week is really important; it’s an opportunity to get your music heard in front of people who might not otherwise hear it. Because there’s so much coverage and excitement about Independent Venue Week, I think it’s one of those things like a music festival - it just gets people out of their homes. It also gives artists like myself the opportunity to play with people they haven’t played with before."

Meanwhile, over at The Baths, our Tune Up course put on a show with a lineup of local talent: Zamani Fitri, Arthur Black, Headcheck, and Helix.

Tune Up is a free course for 16-25-year-olds offering hands-on experience in organising gigs and festivals. Participants take part in workshops covering production, programming, marketing, and event management, gaining valuable industry skills along the way.

Leah Horsnell, a Tune Up member, reflected on the experience:
"Tune Up was an amazing experience and it’s greatly appreciated by all of us that Brighten The Corners supports young people wanting to learn more about the industry. We were all treated as professionals whilst we were learning, even by the artists. In our workshops before the gig we had so many opportunities to make this gig our own and it ended up being better than I'd ever imagined! On the night I was in awe; everything went beautifully, seeing everyone in the crowd cheering and laughing with their friends made me so proud that all of our hard work had created such happy emotions. It was perfect. I have already applied to volunteer with Brighten The Corners again!"

Saturday 1st – Ethereal Folk & Acoustic Punk

Saturday at The Smokehouse saw a dreamy, folk-infused night headlined by The Rabbitts, with support from singer-songwriter Maple Ward - another sold-out IVW gig! Thank you to everyone who came along.

Member of The Rabbitts, Odhran, spoke to us about his experience:
"Our gig at The Smokehouse was incredible and we were so well looked after by the staff and volunteers. Thank you so much for everything you do there for the local music scene!"

Over at St Stephen’s Church, Essex punks PET NEEDS performed an acoustic set, supported by Ben Brown.

Photo by Michaela Ainger

Sound Engineer Gareth Patch shared his perspective:
"It was interesting from my perspective as Sound Engineer to do a punk band that is usually loud, doing acoustic versions of songs but still make them loud...but in a quiet kind of way."

We’d like to say a huge thank you to all the artists, crew, and audiences who made IVW25 such a success. These events remind us why independent venues matter - they’re a space for discovery, creativity, and community. Let’s keep supporting them!