Missing Glastonbury? There's a festival on your doorstep this weekend supporting struggling music venues nationwide. Artists like Fatboy Slim and D Double E are performing at intimate local spots as part of the 'Everywhere At Once' festival, organized by the Music Venue Trust to highlight the value of small clubs facing existential threats.

A nationwide festival called "Everywhere At Once" is taking place this weekend, featuring exclusive performances by prominent artists in small, local music venues across the UK. The initiative aims to shine a spotlight on the critical value of these intimate spaces, many of which are under threat of closure.

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We're losing three nightclubs a month.

Performances include Fatboy Slim's DJ set at Brighton's 60-capacity Pipeline, grime legend D Double E at Nottingham's Brickworks, and chart-topper Anne-Marie previewing new songs at Worcester's Marrs Bar. The festival, organized by the Music Venue Trust, underscores the precarious state of the UK's music scene, with 37% of clubs having closed since the pandemic and over half failing to turn a profit last year.

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And I get it, you know? Since the pandemic, people are going out less, drinking less. Lifestyles definitely changed. But, as an artist, I also think about the music scenes that came from those venues. Whether it's the Bristol clubs that nurtured trip-hop, or the London underground clubs where grime emerged. If we lose those spaces, I just worry what happens.

Tinie Tempah, performing at multiple festival locations, expressed concern over the loss of these venues, which he described as crucial incubators for emerging music scenes. "We're losing three nightclubs a month," he stated, acknowledging lifestyle changes post-pandemic but emphasizing the cultural impact. He added, "If we lose those spaces, I just worry what happens."

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These venues are where you get booed the first time, and where you get cheered for the first time. It's where you get humbled, thinking you've sold out a show, and there's only 20 people there. It's also where you build your most loyal fan base, to be honest. Two decades into my career, the day one fans always hark back to a rave, or a party where they saw you at the very beginning.

Artists like Sacha Lord, founder of the Warehouse Project, and members of Wolf Alice have voiced similar concerns, pointing to rising costs, strict regulations, and early curfews, particularly in London. Harry Styles is supporting the cause by donating £1 from each ticket of his Wembley residency to the Music Venue Trust, raising over £900,000 to aid small venues and emerging artists.

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Small venues were a huge, formative part of our journey. We wouldn't have existed without them.