YO Music

YO Music

York is a pretty idyllic place to live with plenty of things to see and do, but is it lacking a live music venue?

By Isabelle Blexill

I THINK SOMEWHERE WITH A CAPACITY OF AROUND 3,500 PEOPLE WOULD BE IDEAL FOR YORK, I WOULDN’T WANT A LARGE VENUE TO TAKE PEOPLES ATTRACTION AWAY FROM LOCAL BANDS TOO MUCH

People of York have to travel to different cities such as Hull and Leeds in order to see their favourite bands as York doesn’t have a venue with the capacity to accommodate large artists. Connor Newman, music lover, said that he believes York should have an arena that would allow him to see his favourite band in the city where he lives. “I do think that the music venues we have in York are good for local bands, but I usually have to travel to Leeds or Manchester to see my favourite band – The Killers. I think it would really benefit York to have a live music arena somewhere because it would bring even more tourists to the city…Who doesn’t love live music?”

A Community Stadium is currently being built in York and is set to be completed in 2019. The Leisure complex will house an 8,000 seater stadium for York City FC and York City Knights RLFC, a new IMAX cinema and a community hub. The community centre has the potential to host live music events as well as sporting and leisure events.

“WHO DOESN'T LOVE LIVE MUSIC?”

There are many small venues such as The Basement, Fibbers and Fulford Arms but some may argue that York is in need of a larger music venue to attract more bands.

Dave, the manager of The Basement, thinks that York has a good amount of music venues with various capacities. “I think we’re well covered, and the fact York is so close to Leeds will probably always effect bands touring schedules”.

There are lot of events happening at The Basement in the upcoming weeks such as: - The Velma Celli Show- 8th December - Christmas Carol: Office 9th, 11th, 12th and 13th December - Andrew O’Niell 10th December

Fibbers is one of the main live music venues in York with various different artists from all over the world coming to play for the locals. Lee Scratch Perry is one of many artists who are performing at Fibbers along with Lost Society and Glass Caves. With huge bands such as The Courteeners and The Pigeon Detectives having played there in the past, it’s no surprise that Fibbers has such a legendary reputation.

Hull’s Bonus Arena has recently opened its doors to the public and has lots of exciting acts lined up for everyone to enjoy. Catfish and the Bottlemen, Peter Andre and Olly Murs are ust a few among many who are scheduled to play there within the next year.

Lee Scratch Perry is set to play at Fibbers 22nd March 2019.

Photo credit: Fibbers: Live Music Venue

I THINK YORK IS KINDA NAILING IT AT THE MOMENT

Local artists may not share the thought that a larger music venue would be what is best for York.

THE HOWL AND THE HUM

The Howl & The Hum are a York based band who started out by performing at open mic nights in pubs around the city. Their lead singer, Sam, doesn’t believe that the city is in need of a larger live music venue due to the arenas available in neighbouring cities. “Because York is a smaller city with a higher tourist population than those places - it means the independent venues like The Crescent and the Fulford Arms can thrive while not having to fend off competition from Academy-sized venues which serve shite beers for shite prices and usually have equally shite sound. I think sometimes we have to take a step back and appreciate what we’ve got, especially because despite the size and capacity of the venues we’ve got in York, there is more than a small effort being made to make those gig experiences all the more rewarding”.

Sam then went on to tell me more about why he doesn’t think York needs a venue with a larger capacity. “I think York is kinda nailing it at the moment. If there are ‘Academy-sized bands’ playing then there’s Leeds or Manchester to see them, and a lot of touring bands probably wouldn’t schedule York in simply because it’s between Leeds and Hull and those places have got sufficiently sized venues as it is. York has its place in the nationwide venue scene, it’s just a smaller one than Leeds (massive and studenty) and Hull (city of culture!!!)”.

Sam also thinks that York is somewhere that offers a lot of opportunities to musicians. “The Fulford Arms and the Crescent are the venues that immediately spring to mind, but then of course you’ve got the legendary Fibbers (when they’re not putting on Oasish), the Grand Opera House and the Barbican for the larger gigs (Wolf Alice, Richard Thompson), and various working men’s clubs and pubs that have surprisingly good PAs and better atmospheres than any gigs I’ve seen at the O2 in Leeds. The South Bank Social Club, for example, houses the Young Thugs record label who are going from strength to strength, and places like the Spread Eagle and the Woolpack have reputations for putting on class nights for new artists”.

The Howl and The Hum

Photo credit: Andy Little

The Howl & The Hum singer said that if it wasn’t for open mic nights and more intimate gigs they wouldn’t have come across so many different artists and a variety of genres. “We wouldn’t be anywhere if we hadn’t learned from everyone we met”.

AMBER WARREN

Local artist Amber Warren agrees that York doesn’t need a larger music venue because “it’s a very small city that thrives off acts playing small and intimate shows in small venues and bars”. However, she doesn’t think that there are many opportunuities for upcoming artists in York but says “the surrounding cities kinda make up for it”.

YORK DOESN’T NEED A LARGER MUSIC VENUE. LEEDS IS NOT FAR AWAY AND IT HAS A LOT OF LARGER VENUES.