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13 May 2025 12:57 PM
By Nick Reilly
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has launched a Tube map of the city’s grassroots venues as part of a new campaign to support the capital’s independent music scene.
The bold campaign sees the Mayor joining forces with the Music Venue Trust, Outernet, the Featured Artist Coalition, Metro and Universal Music to highlight the 179 grassroots music spaces across London.
Official figures reveal that these rooms welcomed over 4.2 million fans in 2024, hosted shows from over 328,000 artists, employed nearly 7,000 people and contributed a staggering £313m to the economy.
It has also been revealed that seven of the UK’s top 10 artists of 2024 played early shows in London’s grassroots venues, including Chappell Roan‘s early show at the Garage and Noah Kahan‘s performance at The Social on Soho’s Little Portland Street.
The Grassroots Tube Map sees tube lines turned into electric cables and individually named after a selection of albums, songs, labels, venues and genres.
“London’s grassroots music scene is renowned around the world,” said Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. “From providing opportunities for talented aspiring artists to develop their trade, to giving Londoners a great night out, our venues are an essential part of our life at night and provide a huge boost to our economy.
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“However, they have faced huge challenges in recent years, which is why we’re joining with partners across the capital to champion all parts of London’s grassroots music scene,” he added. “This special edition Tube map is a great way to highlight what a huge impact the scene has on our capital, as we continue to do all we can to support venues and build a more prosperous London for everyone.”
The campaign, which launched exclusively in Metro and will be displayed at Outernet over the next month, is also being backed by Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson. The group famously played some of their earliest shows at the Cart and Horses pub in Stratford.
“London’s diverse music scene and its grassroots venues are essential to nurture and support new artists, to bring music fans together and create lifelong passions and memories,” he added. “We need to cherish it, celebrate it and protect it. There’s nothing like it anywhere else in the world so get out there and enjoy it!!”
Mark Davyd, Founder & CEO of Music Venue Trust said: “London is one of the world’s great music cities, constantly reinventing itself with new sounds, new genres, and incredible new artists. The network of grassroots music venues in London are an essential part of what makes the capital’s music thrive, delivering an extraordinary range of music, community and life changing experiences at affordable prices. In London, there really is something for everyone, every night of the week, right the way across the city.”
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