The UK’s grassroots live music scene has been hanging by a thread. Venues are shutting down at an alarming rate, and the independent live music scene, long characterised by its passion and resilience, has found itself caught in a pincer moment of soaring operational costs and dwindling disposable income, all while being squeezed by an increasingly consolidated and corporatised market.
The Music Venue Trust (MVT), the sector’s primary advocacy group, reported that more than one Grassroots Music Venue (GMV) closed its doors every single week. In response, a bold new initiative could mark a turning point, with a coalition of independent promoters and music advocates announcing a bold new project: ‘Where It all Began’, a festival designed to breathe life back into struggling independent venues and promoters.
Backed by the MVT and spearheaded by Si Chai, founder of the touring venue collective Chai Wallahs, the festival is scheduled to take place on June 18-21, 2026, at Freddie Fellowes’ family home in Cambridgeshire. The Secret Garden Party Site owner said, “It will be a party that unites several independent festivals, stages, and collectives into one large rave that can offer a proper party”. This signals a paradigm shift away from the zero-sum game of competition, which was powerfully articulated by Si Chai, who states, “We’re not here to compete with the independent scene. We’re here to help”.
The bedrock of the entire initiative lies in its legal structure as a Community Benefit Service (CBS), which allows costs to be shared across venues, promoters, and fans, fundamentally changing the event’s goals, shifting the focus from maximising financial returns to ensuring long-term cultural and economic sustainability for the sector. According to organisers, this approach could cut production and transport expenses by a remarkable 40%, freeing up vital resources for artists and local operators.
The festival’s initial funding will come from a public crowdfunding campaign set to launch in late 2025. This effort goes beyond mere fundraising; it functions as a membership recruitment strategy that instils a democratic spirit into the festival’s core, promoting a strong sense of ownership and community. The timing is critical, as more GMVs continue to shut down, with many others at risk of collapsing soon. This places the ‘Where It all Began’ festival in a unique and powerful position. It is, in effect, a real-world test case for a new social contract within the music industry, as the success or failure of the festival will serve as a crucial data point on the broader industry debate. By sharing resources and giving fans a seat at the table, it proposes a future where the strength of the independent sector lies not in emulating the corporate model, but in embracing its own unique values of community, collaboration, and mutual support.
