Ed Harcourt to play Hebden Bridge’s Trades Club tomorrow on tour to save grassroots music venues

With one grassroots music venue closing each week, the tour will see acts including Blossoms, Cat Burns, Metronomy, Bloc Party and Sam Ryder returning to their roots to highlight the importance of these local venues in artists’ careers, as part of the music ecosystem, and as important local cultural hubs.

Ed said: “I am delighted to announce a small solo piano tour of UK grassroots venues in association with the awesome Music Venue Trust; since I was 18 years old, I have been performing in countless clubs and bars across our land, legendary sanctuaries for all to converge, nights I can’t remember and memories I can’t forget!

"They have been the vibrant springboards, places where I honed & learnt how to perform live and where I find myself returning to time and time again.

"Unfortunately, we are at a point now where so many of these establishments have been forced into closure. It’s truly heartbreaking.

"These are the sacred places where your favourite bands and singers find and found their voices. They are part of the lifeblood of our culture.

"By doing this tour with the patronage of the MVT and their United By Music campaign, I hope we can not only raise awareness of the threat so many of these venues face but provide you, the punters, with a magnificent night out and an excuse to get out and support live music and the grassroots venues that host us all. Thank you and see you down the road!”