Oasis gig cash to fund grassroots music venues

Manchester City Council said small venues like the Night & Day Cafe will be able to bid for cash

Money made from the huge Oasis gigs and other events in Manchester will help fund grassroots music venues in the city, it has been announced.

The Burnage-born Gallagher brothers played five concerts at Heaton Park, in the north of the city, as part of their Live 25 reunion tour to combined crowds of more than 320,000 people.

Other big gigs by stars such as Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Charlie XCX, Elbow, Fontaines D.C. and Robbie Williams have also boosted the local economy.

Manchester City Council said a £250,000 fund for small music venues had been set up after earning a windfall from hiring out its parks and from business rates paid by larger venues.

Money raised from the events will also be reinvested into council-owned parkland.

The Oasis gigs in Manchester played to more than 320,000 fans

Small venues will be able to bid for grants from the new fund, which is expected to be run by charity the Music Venue Trust - although the finer details are still being ironed out, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Council leader Bev Craig said the biggest gigs in the city's arenas and parks might "dominate the headlines", but they were "only possible because they are part of a wider ecosystem with smaller, grassroots venues providing the launchpads for acts to develop and grow".

Jay Taylor, Music Venue Trust national co-ordinator, said he believed the money came at a critical time after the government reduced business rates relief for small venues.

It is understood the move is unrelated to a court case between the city council and the Night & Day Cafe, a well-known music venue in the city's Northern Quarter.

The case concluded last spring, where the Oldham Street venue appealed against a council noise abatement notice issued in late 2021.

A judge upheld the notice but recommended mediation following a plan suggested by the owners.