Enter Shikari donate tour funds to small venues

Enter Shikari have announced they will donate £1 from every ticket sold for their 2024 arena tour to small, grassroots venues in the UK.

The band said the gesture comes as independent venues face an "existential crisis" through a combination of Covid, rising bills and gentrification.

"Every time we lose another one we lose a vital part of our culture," said lead singer Rou Reynolds.

Earlier this week, London's infamous Printworks venue hosted its final show.

Despite being recognised as one of the best clubs in the world, it is now set to become an office block.

One in five nightclubs have closed since the pandemic; and the Music Venue Trust says up to 30 per cent of UK music venues also face closure as costs spiral.

The Trust, which represents almost 1,000 grassroots clubs and concert halls, has been calling for bigger venues and arenas to make statutory contributions to the grassroots sector.

"It is the responsibility of the whole music ecosystem - artists, agents, managers, promoters, arenas and stadiums - to ensure that new and developing artists have a place to play in their local community," said CEO Mark Davyd.

"Every musician needs a place where they can play the first song they wrote themselves in front of their first audience on their first stage.

"The way to make sure the UK continues to be a major force for music around the world is to ensure that every time anyone invests in a ticket to a major event, a small part of the money they are spending is making its way back to the grassroots music venues where every artist begins their career."

Enter Shikari's Reynolds sits on the board of the trust, and decided to take immediate action after seeing the impact of Covid on his own career.

The band released their last album, Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible, just as the pandemic took hold in 2020, and almost immediately saw their tour cancelled. For the next 18 months, Reynolds was unable to write new music,

"My brain was basically saying, 'What's the point in writing music if you can't share it in a life experience with others?'" he told the NME in January.

"My sense of purpose had disappeared. It was very surreal because we were essentially witnessing the death of our band, and we couldn't do anything about it."

It was only when the live scene began to return that he felt inspired again, writing a collection of "euphoric" songs that he described as "yearning for transcendency, creativity and being able to connect with people".

The resulting album, A Kiss For The Whole World, is set to enter the UK charts at number one this Friday. Tickets for their 2024 tour go on sale the same day.