IDLES announce a fundraiser for the #saveourvenues campaign to raise money for grassroots music venues

IDLES, in conjunction with Hiwatt, are raising money to support independent grassroots music venues across the UK as part of Music Venue Trust’s #saveourvenues campaign. The impact of Covid-19 has been devastating for all music venues and particularly those local venues who have provided a stage for countless artists at the very start of their career. Announcing its ‘Traffic Light’ campaign Music Venue Trust recently highlighted 30 of these venues which are in imminent danger of permanent closure.
In an effort to raise crucial funds to help support numerous grassroots music venues in the UK, IDLES’ are kindly raffling a Hiwatt guitar amp, which was used during IDLES’ recent ‘Lock-in sessions’ at Abbey Road, and a Hiwatt guitar head. During the early stages of their career, the band – with Joe Talbot on vocals, Adam Devonshire on bass, Mark Bowen and Lee Kiernan on guitars, and Jon Beavis on drums – performed at numerous grassroots music venues around the UK.

IDLES’ guitarist, Mark Bowen commented, ‘We would have been in the middle of gigging season right now, where grassroots music venues and musicians make their bread and butter, they need your support now more than ever. Grassroots music venues are where music progresses, they are the places where future festival headliners start out, its where the music on the fringes gets an opportunity to grow and turn into popular music of the future, they are places of escapism and to

speak to our times, make us think of the world around us. They are our culture. Our government derides independence in culture and especially the music industry, this short-sighted view of culture and its economy will be all of our undoing’s. Support an independent venue/artist/movement where you can.’

Fans can enter the raffle HERE. All £5 entries will receive a code via email to a listening party for a one-off chance to hear ‘IDLES live at Ramsgate Music Hall’ live album, and potentially win an IDLES Hiwatt rig.

Entries will be accepted between 12pm BST Monday 23rd November 2020 and 6pm BST Thursday 26th November 2020. The winner will be chosen at random and contacted before Monday 30th November 2020.

All funds raised will go to Music Venue Trust