Non-profit awarding grants to small venues to help them through pandemic
A new non-profit organization, Live Music Society, is awarding grants to small music venues to help them survive extended closure amid COVID-19. Billboard reports that the organization will grant venues $2 million during its first two years of operation. Eligible venues have a capacity of 250 people or less, have been operating for three years or more, and are primarily live music spaces.
“Music is magic,” founder and board chairman Pete Muller said in a release. “It has tremendous power to connect people and create energy. There are small venues around the country that create soul-filling experiences for their audiences, staff, and for the local and touring musicians that play there. These clubs are a precious and important part of our nation’s music ecosystem, and our goal is to help them continue to be excellent at what they do.”
“Our original goal was to support a small network of like minded clubs around the country that could share best practices and learn from each other,” executive director Joyce Lim said. “But then the pandemic hit, and now we are simply trying to help these clubs stay afloat until they can open their doors again.”
Live Music Society has also revealed the recipients of their 2020 grants, which include NYC’s The Bowery Electric, LA’s The Hotel Cafe, Denver’s Hi-Dive, Evanston’s SPACE, Woodstock’s Levon Helm Studios, Seattle’s Barboza, and more. See the full list below.
They’ll begin accepting applications for 2021 grants early in January.
Live Music Society’s 2020 Grantees
The Hotel Cafe (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Dazzle Denver (Denver, Colo.)
Hi-Dive (Denver, Colo.)
SPACE (Evanston, Ill.)
The Jazz Showcase (Chicago, Ill.)
Club Passim (Cambridge, Mass.)
Jonathan’s Ogunquit (Ogunquit, Maine)
Seven Steps Up (Spring Lake, Mich.)
The Word Barn (Exeter, N.H.)
The Bowery Electric (New York, N.Y.)
Caffé Lena (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.)
Levon Helm Studios (Woodstock, N.Y.)
BOP STOP @ The Music Settlement (Cleveland, Ohio)
Mercury Lounge (Tulsa, Okla.)
The Kennett Flash (Kennett Square, Pa.)
Club Café (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
McGonigel’s Mucky Duck (Houston, Texas)
Jammin Java (Vienna, Va.)
Barboza (Seattle, Wash.)
The Royal Room (Seattle, Wash.)
