The coronavirus has affected the live music industry badly, so to help the scene out, campaigns were launched left and right. One of the many campaigns is the “Passport: Back To Our Roots” campaign which got launched in August. Their aim is to recruit big artists that are going to play small venues to help them survive. After the campaign revealed the first block with Everything Everything, Elbow, Public Service Broadcasting, The Slow Readers Club and Ash. Recently, the names of Passenger and Pet Shop Boys got added to the line-up. And there’s more to come: In half an hour, at 10am, they will add more performances to the line-up.
So far, the campaign has raised £75,000 from the first prize draw. Because the thing is, you can’t buy tickets for the shows. Say what? Since the whole point of the campaign is to help your favourite venues, you get to decide on your own how much you want to help. “We’re asking you to support your favourite venues by making a £5 minimum donation to the campaign”, the website reads. Everyone who donates automatically enters a prize draw to win entry for themselves and a plus one.
The participating artists and venues are regularly getting announced via the campaign’s crowdfunding page, with the dates of the particular shows to be announced later on, as “these shows are not live-streamed from an empty room or held under ‘social distancing’ conditions.” Instead, “they are a celebration of the unrivalled experience of watching your favourite artist in a room full of friends and fellow fans – as it should be.”
BLOCK TWO – MORE GIGS COMING – MORE VENUES TO BE SAVED
LINEUP ANNOUNCING 10AM 07.09.2020.
Sign up and be the first to find out >> https://t.co/rIlqKiQGsO#saveourvenues #backtoourroots @musicvenuetrust @crowdfunderuk @bandonthewall pic.twitter.com/HEUOXjIklh
— Passport: Back to Our Roots (@passportgigs) September 2, 2020
In honour of the campaign, Pet Shop Boys are going to play at Camden’s Electric Ballroom, and singer-songwriter Passenger is going to put on a show at Komedia in Brighton. Another addition to the line-up is Russell Watson, who is going to perform at Manchester’s Stoller Hall. KT Tunstall is going to play two shows, one at The Windmill in Brixton, and one at PJ Molloys in Fife.
More acts are going to be announced today (7th September) at 10am, with two more names being revealed on BBC Radio 6 Music during the station’s State Of Independents Day on September 10. Keep an eye out on the “Passport: Back To Our Roots” Twitter account and their website to find out about the newest additions.
