Keeping music live campaign with MVT kicks off at The New Adelphi Club, Hull this week.

This Saturday, the 'Keeping Music Live' tour will begin in Hull, at the legendary institution, The New Adelphi Club. This is a national tour run by WaterBear Music College in conjunction with the Music Venues Trust. The tickets are a mere £1 each, with all revenue going directly to the MVT, the national charity which acts to protect, secure and improve the UK’s Grassroots Music Venues.

Waterbear all day event poster

This is a national tour spanning seven cities, including Hull (The New Adelphi Club), Sheffield (Yellow Arch Studios), Manchester (Castle Hotel), Nottingham (Rough Trade), Norwich (Voodoo Daddy’s), London (Rough Trade East), and Brighton (WaterBear Venue). Each date will celebrate the unique identity of these venues and the communities that surround them.

It all starts on Saturday in Hull, with an all day event featuring an abundance of exciting local and upcoming talent. On the lineup is; Maftin, Polite Bureaux, Rothco, Wench, Mothers Day, Emitter, The Richard Carlson Band and Skinter.

Rothco - Divine Comedy - Live at BBC introducing

This event connects to the bigger story of the struggle of grassroots venues. According to MVT’s 2024 Annual Report, 125 grassroots venues closed in the previous year, making it the worst year on record, with an average of two closures per week, posing a great threat to the survival of the UK live music industry. These spaces are being lost to rising costs, noise complaints, development pressure and a lack of industry support. 

We're currently losing grassroots music venues at a rate of 2 per month , so there's an urgency around celebrating and supporting our venues, with The New Adelphi being a prime example. 

Art of iconic 'The New Adelphi Club', Hull

The Adelphi is cornerstone of the cities culture and history and a centrepiece for the thriving community. The building has existed since 1880 and was awarded a brewery licence in 1924, under the name 'The Victory Club'.

Fast forward 60 years it became 'The New Adelphi Club' in 1984, when it was taken over by Paul Jackson. As well as being visited by internationally famed talent before their 'big breaks'; The Stone Roses, The Cranberries and Green Day (who slept on the stage in sleeping bags). It's also hosted a total of 12 Glastonbury pyramid stage headliners.

(Echo and the Bunnymen, Happy Mondays, Primal Scream, Radiohead, Carter USM, Tom Meighan, Pulp, Oasis, Manic Street Preachers, Skunk Anansie, Travis and Mumford & Sons). The Adelphi is the epitome of championing emerging up and coming talent and it accommodates around a whopping 300 gigs a year!

It is vital we keep venues such as this alive. They are the thriving hearts of many communities, so please keep supporting!

A proportion of tickets will be distributed by Tickets For Good, reaching NHS staff, teachers, charity workers, volunteers and individuals affected by the cost of living crisis. Its platform ensures that access to live music isn’t limited by income or circumstance, supporting WaterBear’s mission to embed music education within the real-life, real-world infrastructure of the UK scene. Additionally, Fightback Lager will be sold on the night, supporting the tour with donations from each pint sold going to MVT.

WaterBear’s relationship with grassroots venues runs year-round. In Sheffield and Brighton, students perform midweek shows at local venues to help build footfall and offer support during quieter trading periods. The college supports these events financially by covering entry costs and, where possible, bar spend—making sure the venues benefit from both audiences and income. This model is central to WaterBear’s belief that education must be mutual, relevant and rooted in the real world.

Bruce John Dickinson, WaterBear Co-founder, adds: “These venues aren’t just buildings—they’re launchpads. Go to the gig. Buy a ticket. Stand at the front. These places are everything for emerging artists, playing gigs, learning to handle a crowd, and making your name.” 

Watch out for my full coverage on the event, featuring an event review, plus venue and artist interviews, on the Soundsphere Magazine website.

For all the information on venues, dates and line-ups click here