Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan and Elsa Hewitt in Leeds

Posted 30 October 2023 by Richard

Jane and I are always keen to add something to the cultural landscape. To that end, I, along with my friends Gaz Battersby and Ewan Frater, have organised a series of musical events this year, the latest being Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan and Elsa Hewitt performance at Sheaf Street in Leeds, which took place at the end of October.

It has been an interesting experience for me to return to gig promotion after a gap of over five years. During this time, I have observed that certain things have changed. Firstly, ticket sales post-COVID are very slow and people tend to buy them at the last moment. This makes it harder to predict which events will be popular. Secondly, reaching potential audiences using social media has become more challenging as the platforms now encourage you to pay for advertising. Lastly, I faced an issue with the Home Office when they denied a work visa to an artist, which led to the cancellation of their whole UK tour.

I discovered that many venues are struggling with increasing running costs and decreasing per-head spending. Sheaf Street permanently closed a week after the Warrington-Runcorn gig, resulting in the cancellation of its remaining events and layoffs of its team.

I see a lot of young and enthusiastic event promoters out there, organising diverse and exciting events. This makes me feel positive about the future, but I believe that we need to provide support to smaller music venues because without them, we will all be worse off.

Thanks to Karol Wyszynski for the amazing photography.