The year the music might die: British clubs face closure

Posted: Aug 16, 2020 / 09:26 AM EDT / Updated: Aug 16, 2020 / 09:26 AM EDT

Keiron Marshall and Hannah White play a song on their guitars as they test the sound sytem at the Sound Lounge in London, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020. More than 400 grassroots music venues in Britain are said to be at imminent risk of closure, although the government is currently pledging 2.25 million pounds in a “culture recovery package”, that wont be enough to reach the grass roots according to organisers. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

By TARYN SIEGEL Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — More than 400 grassroots music venues in Britain are at imminent risk of closure because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The government announced this week that indoor and socially-distanced live music could resume on Saturday. But this doesn’t mean that the live music scene will be immediately restored.

Officials have pledged 2.25 million pounds ($2.66 million) in aid to grassroots venues, but that will only help the worst-hit 150 venues get by through the end of September. Some fear it will rescue the country’s largest halls and opera houses but the grassroots music scene that has given birth to some of Britain’s greatest musical exports will face ruin.