The Music Venue Trust (MVT), the UK charity dedicated to supporting Grassroots Music Venues (GMVs), has announced a 20-date tour by Essex rock trio Bilk. This extensive tour, aptly named "MVT Presents Bilk," marks the first initiative funded by the new Liveline Fund, a collaborative effort between MVT and Save Our Scene (SOS).

The Liveline Fund was established to directly inject financial support into grassroots venues, artists, and promoters. This crucial funding is generated by contributions from arena and stadium ticket sales, with artists like Sam Fender, Katy Perry, Coldplay, and Enter Shikari already adopting the Grassroots Levy that fuels the fund.

This support will enable Bilk to undertake a significantly longer tour than their usual schedule, allowing them to revisit venues that championed them early in their career and to reach towns and cities that would otherwise be economically unfeasible. This addresses a critical issue highlighted by MVT in 2024, which revealed that only 12 major cities across the UK remain as primary and secondary touring circuit stops for grassroots artists.

Rebecca Walker, Live Projects at MVT, stated, "We are practically demonstrating the positive impact that contributions from arena and stadium ticket levies can have for the Grassroots Sector when we act collaboratively.”

Bilk’s lead singer and songwriter, Sol Abrahams, emphasized the importance of the tour: "This tour is obviously gonna be chaos. We’ve been wanting to do a tour of grassroots venues for a while as we’ve seen a lot of these places keep closing down and it ain’t good for music." He added, “Everyone deserves a chance to grow... When we were coming up as a band, those are the places we’d play week in and week out." Abrahams concluded, "We need real life, we need real energy, real connection, in the flesh, in person. That’s what it’s about. That’s why we’re doing this. It’s gonna be sweaty, intimate and a good time so to our fans, we’ll see you there.”

The Liveline Fund is committed to revitalizing live music across UK communities, working with artists, venues, and promoters to build sustainable touring models.

Tickets for the MVT Presents Bilk tour go on sale Friday, June 13th, at 10:00 AM, available here.

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