Keeping Music Live: WaterBear and Music Venue Trust bring grassroots music campaign to London
WaterBear the College of Music, in collaboration with the Music Venue Trust (MVT), has announced that its Keeping Music Live tour will stop in London this October as part of a national campaign supporting grassroots music venues.
The live gig will take place on 31 October at Rough Trade East on Brick Lane from 7-11pm featuring Thistle with support from Faeser, Dirtsharks and SPIKEMYHEART. Tickets are just £1, with all proceeds going directly to MVT, the national charity which acts to protect, secure, and improve the UK’s Grassroots Music 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.
To combat the closures and champion local talent, WaterBear has launched its inaugural ‘Keeping Music Live’ campaign: a national tour running from October 18 to November 1, 2025 with live gigs at some of the UK’s most beloved grassroots venues in London, Manchester, Brighton and more cities, supported by MVT, Love Music Hate Racism and Save Our Scene.
Rough Trade East, established in 2007 on Brick Lane, is one of London’s most iconic independent music venues. Celebrated for its commitment to new and emerging talent, it has hosted early shows by major acts such as Arctic Monkeys, The xx, Florence + The Machine, and LCD Soundsystem. As a cultural hub, Rough Trade East continues to champion grassroots music, aligning perfectly with WaterBear’s mission.
Northampton’s rising trio thistle, fresh from an appearance at Dot to Dot festival and the release of a new EP, will headline the London date. Supporting them will be breakthrough WaterBear bands Faeser, Dirtsharks and WaterBear Brighton artist SPIKEMYHEART.
Greg Archer, Careers and Industry Manager, WaterBear Sheffield, says: “If venues disappear, so do the opportunities for bands, crew, the whole circuit. This is our ecosystem too - we’ve been working with local venues for years—putting on shows, helping them stay open, and giving students a proper understanding of what the industry really looks like. We’re proud to continue that with so many industry partnerships and support for emerging artists on the ‘Keeping Music Live tour.”
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.
The London show emphasizes WaterBear’s commitment to nurturing emerging talent at their campuses in Brighton and Sheffield through live performance. By partnering with the iconic Rough Trade East, the college is giving students and up-and-coming artists first-hand experience of the city’s vibrant grassroots music scene and putting them under a national spotlight.
Brad Widdowson, a WaterBear student and a part of Sheffield band Sundress, said: “We’re playing festivals next year, but without smaller venues we’d never have been ready. You learn by doing. You make mistakes. You grow. You can’t skip that part.”
WaterBear’s relationship with grassroots venues runs year-round. In Brighton and Sheffield, 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.”
For more information on the Keeping Music Live tour and tickets, click here.