Live music funding will make 'massive difference'

Artists looking to follow in the footsteps of bands including Radiohead, Supergrass and Foals are set to benefit from new funding to support live music.

Last month, Oxford City Council agreed to invest £40,000 over the next two years to help live music events, "which might otherwise not be viable to flourish".

The live music fund, which is still being put together, will be open to local musicians and promoters. It comes after the closure of multiple venues around the city in recent years.

Musician Hannah Bruce, who is by her own admission "Oxford born and bred", said the new funding would "make a massive difference".

"Oxford - it's got the big names that come out of it, but for me there's so many unsung heroes, people that have inspired generations," she said.

"The arts and culture [have been] very clinically underfunded... but art is integral to everyone - it's a way of expressing yourself that should be accessible for everyone."

The new funding announcement comes after Oxford saw a number of live venues close their doors recently, including The Cellar, The Jam Factory, and the upstairs venue at The Wheatsheaf.

But one venue in the city that is still open for business, and is among its oldest and most iconic live music spots, is The Bullingdon - where Paul Williams is general manager.

"The venue's been going now for 150 years and we're open for everyone, we're extremely diverse - what we do is we try and get everyone coming from all different music genres," he explained.

"But costs are going up and up and up and people are drinking a bit less as well, so it's trying to find that line of where it becomes sustainable."

As well as running The Bullingdon, Paul is also the director of Causing a Scene - a community owned non-profit that promotes Oxfordshire's music.

"We have a strong heritage of music in Oxford and it's something people want live - to have fun and to create art," he said.

"This fund will help that by allowing some of the newer bands to be able to gain access to hire a venue for the first time."

The funding was approved by Oxford City Council last month, and was partly the brainchild of councillor James Taylor.

"We were specifically thinking about how big the costs are in Oxford for musicians... and that's one of the biggest things that has been holding back up-and-coming artists in the city from breaking through," he said.

He said he hoped the scheme would create a "fuller, more vibrant Oxford".

"As you're around the city you'll be able to see more events going on, more things going on, more things you could go to, more things you can see, more places you can have fun."

Hannah added: "There aren't many local initiatives like that, so it's really exciting to see.

"There are so many people that haven't even been to a gig and seen live music, and that's such a special thing that everyone should have the opportunity to be a part of."

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