Brighton date for award winner Ags Connolly
He will take to the stage as part of Live at The Brunswick (cellar) in Brighton/Hove in association with BPA Live on Sunday, February 6 (tickets from www.modernagemusic.co.uk; age 18-plus).
“It’s absolutely vital to support the independent venues,” Ags says. “It was vital beforehand but since the pandemic, independent venues especially have been massively struggling.
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Hide Ad“They were forced to shut or during the pandemic they could only open with a limited number of people which usually made it not worth opening anyway.
“But just generally things are getting more expensive and there is less and less money to go around and it is harder for these venues to stay open and to attract people through the door. They don’t want to put the prices up and price people out but they want to stay independent and celebrate live music.
“The trouble is the romantic idea is there but it is just getting harder and harder to realise it.
“Oxford (near where Ags lives) has lost pretty much all its live music venues in the town, and I think it’s the same thing happening in most places really. You get really enterprising people trying to open up new places and you find that they do well for maybe a year but then the reality starts to bite and they find that the costs are massively prohibitive.
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Hide Ad“To be brutally honest there is not a lot that we can do as musicians apart from support them vocally. We should be playing in these venues and trying to bring the crowds in and we should also be shouting from the rooftops about how important these venues are. Artists like me really need these independent venues because I guess the bigger venues would not take me on a regular basis. These sorts of independent venues are my bread and butter. And when you lose them I think you lose the intimacy. You lose the intimate gigs and those are the ones that you really remember and really enjoy. And I think you also lose the personal touch. If you go to venues that are owned by big companies, you lose that individuality of the gig and that’s really important too.
“I think some of the venues can turn things around. What I do believe is that music and the performing arts always manage to find a way as long as there are people that want to do it and people that want to hear it. I do think that a way can be found. It’s like pubs and them shutting down but instead we’re getting these little micropubs opening. It’s a question of adapting and I think that will happen with venues.”
As for his own experience of the pandemic: “The only thing that has risen up in these times that we should be grateful for is the online stuff. Before it was really difficult to convince people to go online to listen to music but I think now people do see the benefits of it and it’s a nice way to watch when you can’t actually get out to watch the music in person.
“And I think for the performers, as long as you don’t overdo it, it’s a good way as well. You wouldn’t want to be doing it too much but even now that there is a chance to play live music I do still think that there is a place for the online gigs. Some of my audiences are older and it’s great that they can enjoy the music online.”
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Hide AdInevitably the pandemic has changed everyone: “It sounds very cheesy but I think I am much more grateful for every gig. It is a natural response really. You bring time into it and it just reminds you that we have not got long here and that we need to make the most of what we can do and just to be grateful for it. It’s a question of making the most of what we’ve got. I found it hard to be creative during the lockdowns. You’re sitting within four walls and not really seeing anything that will inspire you but now I just don’t want to waste any more time. Provided we can get out there safely and do it, I just want to be making music again.”