The hardcore and punk venue was forced to close its doors in March after struggling to survive throughout the Covid pandemic. The landlord decided to terminate the lease and turn the building into flats and shops… a story becoming all too prominent in this country.

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However, after a string of benefit gigs and crowdfunding campaigns, Boom is now ready to reopen its doors at a beautiful canalside location on Armley Road.

Next door to the 1,000 capacity Project House, the new venue will become a hub of music and culture which, when complete, will boast a live music space, rehearsal rooms, a recording studio, extra event rooms, and education and community facilities.

The first show will take place on May 21 as Leeds hardcore band Bodyweb headline with support from Long Goodbye, imissyoualready, Crowquil and Monroe.

The news of a venue re-opening after being forced to shut comes as a glimmer of hope to grassroots venues up and down the country.

Mxdwn has extensively covered the growing problems that independent venues are facing in this country, with a new survey finding that over half of the British population have witnessed the closure of a locally important venue since 2020.

Work is being done to tackle this by many groups including the Music Venue Trust and Jeremy Corbyn’s Peace And Justice Project, with the latter recently announcing the new campaign ‘A Summer To Save Live Music’.

Now, fans of punk in Leeds can rejoice at the reopening of the legendary venue. Posting on Instagram, the Boom team said: “Thanks to six months of fundraising, merch projects and countless volunteer hours, we’ve already started to transform the space and can’t wait to welcome you all back later this month.

“There’s still plenty to do, and it’s definitely a work in progress, opening for gigs is our next big step in raising the funds we need.”

 

 

 

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After the opening night on May 21, the venue will then be headlined the next day by Inhuman Nature with support from Grief Ritual, Sidewinder and Hard Stare.

One band that cut their teeth at Boom was Static Dress. Speaking in January 2024, frontman Oli Appleyard spoke of the importance of the venue, telling NME: “It’s a home of so much culture and not just one specific genre – punk, metal, hardcore, grindcore – all the stuff which wouldn’t normally have a place.

“It’s a place which allows international artists to come through and play shows, and it allows a safe place for all these things to exist.”

Tickets for the launch gigs are available now from here with the opening night costing only £12 plus booking fee.

You can also support the venue by donating to their crowdfunder which has already raised over £3,500, or by heading to their merch store here where a selection of posters and clothes are available.

MVT is an organization that represents Grassroots Music Venues across the UK and has already raised over 1.2 million with the SaveOurVenues fight throughout the last 8 months. With only 2 weeks left until the campaign deadline, the Traffic Light phase is intended to showcase the venues that are at the highest risk of closing their doors for good.

Traffic Light gets its name because of the coloured categorization of the music venues according to their needs. There are 353 green venues that will be safe without outside funding until March 31st. Amber venues are safe until March 31st if given outside help. Red venues, currently under the spotlight, are the 30 that the organization has deemed in danger of closing without funding in the next few weeks.

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The MVT has worked with audiences, local communities and councils, news and radio stations and creative communities in order to raise funds to save the venues, but it is now calling on everyone else to call their local councils and demand action and raise awareness. MVT states on their website that if music venues close, ‘they’ll never come back.’

The organization is now in partnership with Crowdfunder, a platform where the public can donate any sum they choose as a donation for the cause. The 30 venues that are on the MVT’s ‘red list’ are now available to donate to individually, so locals can choose to save their neighbourhood venues. 

If one venue receives an abundance of donations, then the extra proceeds will be used to save other venues that may not have been fortunate enough to meet their quota by the deadline. MVT and the venues are offering SaveOurVenues merchandise for the holiday seasons and will be donating the profits to the venues. 

 

 

 

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Music venues have been hit hard during the Covid-19 lockdowns, but these venues struggle hardest because they do not qualify for government furlough or business funding. Venues are an integral friend to communities, not only providing a platform for artists to grow in their careers but also playing a large role in the success of the economy and culture of the area. The impact of Grassroots Music Venues is important enough to save.

Donations for SaveOurVenues and Traffic Light campaigns can be made through MVT’s Crowdfunding site here. Holiday merchandise can be ordered now, available here. For those who wish to simply raise awareness, use this hashtag on all social media platforms. #SAVEOURVENUES #SAVETHE30