Blossoms And More To Play Exclusive Shows For The UK’s ‘United By Music’ Tour

The National Lottery and leading UK charity Music Venue Trust has announced a unique Eurovision legacy specifically aiamed at grassroots music venues across the UK through The National Lottery’s United By Music Tour, bringing 150 gigs to 130 locations across the country.

The initiative was launched with a special free concert for 15,000 people in the Eurovision Village last Wednesday night and follows the successful delivery of the Liverpool leg of the National Lottery’s United By Music Tour – an event that saw iconic local artists such as The Lightning Seeds and The Coral playing local venues in support of the live music sector.

The announcement takes The National Lottery contribution to grassroots venues through the United By Music Tour to £1.5m and comes at a crucial time when many venues are still struggling with the fallout from theCOVID-19  pandemic and the impact of the cost of living crisis. The funds committed underwrite the costs of bands’ performance and touring costs ensuring venues get artists at no cost to them. It is the single largest legacy initiative announced for Eurovision 2023 to date.

Kicking off in mid-June, the gigs will see a diverse range of up and coming and established headline artists perform in music venues across the UK. Blossoms, Metronomy, Cat Burns, – with many more to be announced – will be playing one-off shows to highlight the importance of grassroots music venues.

National tours will feature more than 20 artists including Sleeper, The Dirty Nil and Prima Queen, with all tickets available on a 2-for-1 basis to National Lottery players as a thank you for their support.

Speaking about the tour Louise Wener of Sleeper, who will play 12 gigs from Dumfries to Dover, said “All those amazing grassroots venues allowed Sleeper to grow. Touring the country, crowds right in front of our faces, it’s how we learned to be a live band. They’re part of our history. Part of every great band’s history. You can’t have one without the other. There’s nothing like the intimacy and buzz you get in a smaller venue. Reconnecting with clubs we played coming up in the 90s is exciting. Supporting them now feels more important than it’s ever been.”

As well as supporting local venues The National Lottery and Music Venue Trust have launched the tour to extend the celebration of Liverpool’s historic hosting of Eurovision across the breadth of the country. In addition it will celebrate and recognize all 17 UK towns and cities that initially bid to host Eurovision with an event in each of them. Every National Lottery player who purchased a ticket will be invited to bring a “plus one” for free – all they need to do to qualify for this offer is to bring any National Lottery product when they attend the gig.

Tickets for The National Lottery’s United by Music Tour will be live on May 15 2023 at 10am UK time. Visit United By Music’s official website for tickets and further information.

This is the third year The National Lottery has partnered with Music Venue Trust, underwriting the full touring and production costs of artists participating, as part of their ongoing commitment to the grassroots music sector and takes the total money committed to £5.5m.

Visit United By Music’s official website for further information.