Grassroots Unite: New Festival 'Where It All Began' Set to Revive UK Live Music
Non-profit collective launches festival to save UK's indie live music scene.
A Rescue Mission for Britain’s Indie Live Music Scene
Britain’s grassroots live music circuit has been under unprecedented strain. According to the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), a record 78 UK festivals were cancelled or closed in 2024, more than double the number lost the year before citeturn0news12turn7view0. Faced with soaring production costs, complex licensing requirements, and the overwhelming dominance of major operators, smaller events and venues have struggled to stay afloat.
Into this breach steps a new non-profit music collective. The group has unveiled a festival titled Where It All Began, described as a “rescue plan” for the UK’s alternative live music scene. Operating as a Community Benefit Society, the initiative aims to unite independent festivals, venues, and collectives under a shared, co-owned model. Organisers say resource pooling and collaborative marketing could cut expenses by up to 40 per cent citeturn0news12.
Born from the Ashes: Si Chai and the Collective
This bold venture is spearheaded by Si Chai, the founder of the small-scale festival promoter Chai Wallahs. Chai has long championed emerging talent and niche events, most visibly at his Secret Garden Party stage. He has teamed up with the Music Venue Trust, an organisation dedicated to safeguarding grassroots venues, and Freddie Fellowes, the founder of the Secret Garden Party, who has pledged to host the festival on his family farm in Cambridgeshire citeturn1search0.
Si Chai explained that the current independent festival model is “unsustainable” for many organisers, leaving up-and-coming artists with fewer platforms to perform and grow their followings. He emphasised that the collective is not about competing with corporate giants but about protecting what remains of the indie circuit. A public crowdfunding campaign will soon offer fans a stake in how the festival is run, reinforcing the democratic ethos at its heart citeturn1search0.
The Community Benefit Society Model
Under the Community Benefit Society structure, all participating venues and collectives become co-owners and co-programmers of the event. Key features include:
- Shared financial risk and reduced reliance on external investors
- Collective bargaining for production and transport suppliers
- Unified marketing through shared databases and coordinated campaigns
- Democratic governance, with each member having a voice in decision-making
Organisers estimate that centralising procurement and logistics could trim event costs by nearly 40 per cent, easing the burden on smaller teams and ensuring more sustainable operations citeturn0news12.
Addressing an Industry in Peril
The closure of 78 festivals in 2024 added to a tally of 96 events lost to the pandemic since 2019, bringing total festival disappearances to nearly 250 when combined with recent cancellations citeturn7view0. Rising insurance premiums, energy bills, and restrictive exclusivity deals have squeezed margins for organisers. Meanwhile, major operators such as Live Nation account for roughly a quarter of all festival ticket sales, leaving a dwindling share for independents.
John Rostron, chief executive of the AIF, described this initiative as both “pioneering and gamechanging”, noting that sharing risk among multiple organisers could be a vital lifeline for events that might otherwise fold under financial pressure citeturn1search0.
Voices of Support and Challenge
Industry leaders have rallied behind the plan. Freddie Fellowes called it “necessary, hopeful, and long overdue”, stressing that nurturing grassroots talent is essential to the health of the broader music ecosystem citeturn1search0.
A Live Nation spokesperson acknowledged that “pressures on festivals are felt from top to bottom, with costs rising significantly”, but pointed out that the company reinvests in emerging events like The Great Escape and BBC Introducing stages at Reading and Leeds citeturn1search0. This measured backing highlights the complexity of an industry where corporate and independent interests often intersect.
Implications for Emerging Artists and Venues
By stabilising the grassroots sector, Where It All Began aims to create renewed opportunities for emerging artists to showcase their music. Smaller venues, long overlooked by large-scale booking agents, could benefit from the collective’s shared ticketing and logistics platforms. With nine collectives already committed and more in talks, organisers hope this model will become a replicable blueprint for communities across the UK citeturn0news12.
For artists, the festival promises exposure to new audiences while offering a transparent revenue-sharing model that ensures fairer returns. For venues, it could secure the future of independent cultural spaces that serve as breeding grounds for the next generation of talent.
A Blueprint for Nationwide Reform?
Though current plans focus on a single spring event, Chai and his collaborators envisage a wider network of co-owned festivals and grassroots programmes. By demonstrating that independents can pool resources effectively, they hope to influence policymakers to introduce structural support, such as temporary tax reliefs on festival tickets or grants for small venues.
Chai says success would prove that independent organisers “still have power when they act together” – a rallying cry for a sector that many feared might vanish under corporate consolidation and post-pandemic austerity citeturn1search0.
Conclusion
Where It All Began represents a bold experiment in cooperative event management. By aligning multiple stakeholders under a democratic, community-led framework, the festival seeks not only to survive but to revitalise the indie live music circuit. If successful, it could herald a new era of collective action, safeguarding the intimate venues and grassroots festivals that have long been the lifeblood of British music.
Meta Description: Non-profit collective launches festival to save UK's indie live music scene.
Sources:
- The Guardian: “Non-profit music collective launches festival in ‘rescue plan’ for UK gig circuit” (turn0news12)
- INKL (republishing The Guardian): “Non-profit music collective launches festival in ‘rescue plan’ for UK gig circuit” (turn1search0)
- Association of Independent Festivals blog: “New festival Homestead cancels. AIF calls for Music Festival Tax Relief” (turn7view0)