Dan McCarthy

@musicvenuetrust.bsky.social

31.07.2025 15:23 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Founding The Jago with Kwame Otiende This beloved Dalston venue rose from the ashes of Passing Clouds, carrying forward the community spirit its predecessor was adored for.

The first full venue feature for The Ground Up - a Substack telling the stories of grassroots venues - is now live!

For this instalment, I spoke to Kwame Otiende, co-founder of beloved Dalston venue, The Jago.

Thanks for being here at the start, so many more stories coming soon.

#GMVs

31.07.2025 15:16 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Welcome to The Ground Up Documenting the stories behind the UK’s grassroots music venues

Our first feature is a more detailed explainer about what we're setting out to do. You can read that below.

In a few days, our first full feature will be published: a venue deep-dive with beloved Dalston venue The Jago, featuring an interview with co-founder Kwame Otiende.

25.07.2025 08:20 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

The Ground Up | Dan McCarthy | Substack A celebration of the UK’s grassroots music venues. Through stories and interviews, we spotlight the vital people and places making local scenes thrive, often against the odds. Click to read The Ground...

Chuffed to launch The Ground Up, a Substack documenting the UK’s grassroots music venues.

Through in-depth stories and interviews, myself and @willbpask.bsky.social will be spotlighting the vital people and places making local music scenes thrive, often against the odds. Subscribe below!

25.07.2025 08:15 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 2    📌 1

All British life is at Glastonbury - except Nigel Farage... The pastoral quilt of glamping tents and a VIP backstage area reflect the UK's increasing disparities. Can the idealistic city hold out against the hyper...

For The Observer, I’ve written about where Glastonbury sits within not just an increasingly corporate festival scene, but also wider British culture, and whether it can hold on to its countercultural roots in a live music industry in crisis

observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

28.06.2025 07:57 — 👍 62    🔁 16    💬 6    📌 9

Kneecap at Glastonbury don't RT they are supposed to be terrorists or something.

28.06.2025 16:13 — 👍 1844    🔁 1056    💬 48    📌 49

As the world tunes in to the biggest live event on the planet this weekend, a reminder: without grassroots music venues, the line-up would look very different.

Support the live music ecosystem that takes artists from their first stage to the world stage.

#Glastonbury2025

27.06.2025 13:06 — 👍 12    🔁 9    💬 1    📌 0

@musicvenuetrust.bsky.social doing the vital work for our grassroots venues. Chuffed to get my first feature for @thequietus.com out there

16.06.2025 15:47 — 👍 3    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Why it's Time to Support Grassroots Venue with a £1 Ticket Levy | The Quietus Back in April, Andrew Carthy – known to fans as Mr Scruff – completed a run of 15 shows in grassroots venues around the UK. This ‘Miniature Arenas Tour’ was a special one. For every ticket sold, he do...

I've made my debut for @thequietus.com, reporting on the state of grassroots music and how a £1 levy could provide a huge lifeline for venues that form the bedrock of the UK's live music scene.


In short — get out there and support your local venues! Or they won’t be around for much longer.


#GMVs

10.06.2025 08:19 — 👍 3    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

I’ve made my @residentadvisor.bsky.social debut today, discussing club culture’s post-Covid economic malaise and the need for radically different approaches to it.

This was a tricky one to write, but I’m really proud of it & hope it’ll help spark some broader conversations:

ra.co/features/4428

19.03.2025 12:58 — 👍 10    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 1