Small venues are the heartbeat of our music scene, quietly shaping our culture long before it reaches the mainstream spotlight. Every household name once played to a half-empty room, learned how to connect with an audience and made their first mistakes on a stage that was built by a local community. Without small venues, there is no starting line for musicians. It’s crucial to keep these places alive.
I’m writing this as my band, Heriot, just got back from a mammoth seven-week tour across North America supporting Trivium with Jinjer. It was our first time playing outside of the UK or Europe, and playing to so many new fans at venues full of thousands of people was of course incredible. But us making the journey wouldn’t have been thinkable without our grassroots venues.
Heriot met playing a floor show at Bristol’s The Stag And Hounds back in 2016. There were maybe 10 or 15 people who watched the show that evening – it was just my second-ever time playing live. Even though there was nobody really watching the show, that night turned out to be one of the most influential of my life! Without us meeting, my path would have been totally different. It was the catalyst of me meeting some of my best friends, learning how to play live and eventually joining Heriot. We played there a few times over the years, and it was always a venue I would look forward to revisiting.
Years later – as we sold out The Stag’s neighbouring venue, The Exchange (which seemed massive to me back in 2016) – I took a moment to stand back and reflect on how important that place was for us, and probably for so many other bands too. All over the country, people in music have a similar story connected to their town’s local venue: the place that housed their initial experiences in music and lit the flame for it becoming their life’s devotion.
Despite the hundreds of Bristol music fans it housed, the countless nights of monumental shows for bands just beginning their careers, the constant traffic of new music, The Stag And Hounds closed. It didn’t close for lack of passion or community, but for lack of the funds needed to keep it alive. Its absence is a reminder that even the most loved spaces are fragile, and that without our support, we will quickly be left with no grassroots spaces.
Heriot will be headlining The Victoria next year. It’s one of Swindon’s last remaining independent venues and a place we used to play together back in the day. The show sold out in a few hours – which doesn’t just show how much things have changed for us, but how eager people are to see shows locally in Swindon. We’ll never do a show that intimate ever again and that is something truly so exciting to us! As we go on to achieve bigger things, we don’t forget where we’ve come from, nor the venues and communities that have built us and supported us.
In the New Year, The Victoria will change hands. Its future feels unpredictable, and that uncertainty makes this show feel especially important. With that in mind, we wanted to pay homage to The Victoria for the role it has played in building us as a band, while also shining a light on how small venues like this continue to shape, support and craft the next generation.
Heriot play at The Victoria in Swindon on February 25.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.