Independent Venue Week 2026 begins today, with 236 independently owned venues taking part in more than 700 shows and events across the UK. Read how Nova Twins returned to their grassroots roots as part of the celebrations.
Running from 26 January to 1 February, the 13th edition of the nationwide celebration arrives with 10 per cent more participating venues than in 2025. The programme stretches from major cities to towns and smaller communities, making the point that grassroots music does not begin and end in London.
Nova Twins are this year’s UK artist ambassadors, with Brògeal representing Scotland and Eve Goodman representing Wales. Nova Twins return to the 300-capacity Amersham Arms in New Cross on 27 January — a venue connected to the duo’s earliest years as performers.
Why this matters
Independent venues are where artists learn how to be bands. They are where bad songs get exposed, good songs get better and an audience becomes something more meaningful than a number on a screen.
They are also fragile businesses. Independent Venue Week deliberately lands in a traditionally quieter part of the calendar, encouraging audiences to get through the doors at a point when those rooms need them.
For Imminent Infinity, grassroots music is not a side category. It is part of the reason this site exists. The acts filling arenas in five or ten years have to start somewhere, and very often that somewhere has a low ceiling, a sticky floor and a capacity measured in hundreds rather than thousands.
Seven days and 700-plus shows will not solve every pressure facing the sector. But putting these rooms at the centre of the conversation is a bloody good place to start.
