The Swansea Arena House Party, taking place on Saturday 24 February, has announced its full line-up and tickets are now on sale. In partnership with the Music Venue Trust (MVT), the House Party will champion the local music scene and celebrate the two-year anniversary of Swansea Arena’s hugely successful original test events, known as the House Warming.
The electrifying annual all-day event aims to raise £20k in its first year, which will primarily be channelled to venues in the SA postcode area. Additional voluntary donations on forthcoming announced music events, will also contribute to reaching this fundraising target.
The main stage will see performances from Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard, The Fiends, Monet, Grey FLX, Kikker, Mojo Jnr., Rainyday Rainbow, and Pseudo Cool; coffee shop sessions from Subterrania, Margo Thirlwell, Tarun Rathod, Daisy, and Honey Rich, in addition to creative workshops, stalls from local grassroots venues, and much more.
This event is the first since the creation of the Swansea Music Venues Working Group, a new collaboration in which music venues across the city have joined forces to enable the city’s rich music scene to face the industry’s challenges and create opportunities together. Speaking exclusively to TPi Magazine, Swansea Arena’s Lisa Mart and The Bunkhouse’s Jordan McGuire share their aspirations for the event and highlight why a collective approach to the region’s live entertainment scene with the formation of the Swansea Music Venues Working Group will help overcome the challenges associated with operating a modern day venue…
What was the inspiration behind this announcement?
LM: “The team at the Arena is composed of a real variety of people from the industry – many who have worked their way up through the venues locally, either in operations, tech or as performers themselves. So, the culture since we all came together has always been one of wanting to collaborate and support the local scene. For this reason, we decided to chair a monthly meeting with all the music venues in the area to see how we could work together – and the partnership with MVT came from that as it became apparent how much support they were providing. Jordan at Bunkhouse put up in touch with Mark Davyd and it was obvious we shared the same values. We had already planned on having an annual House Party which championed local bands on our stage, so bringing in the local venues and donating the ticketing income to MVT was a clean project solution. We get to raise money for MVT whilst still putting money into the local live music economy by giving people work for the day, paying the artists, and putting the local GMVs at the forefront.”
How important is it for larger venues like Swansea Arena to collaborate with associations like MVT and champion the local music scene?
JM: “Collaboration between larger venues like Swansea Arena and organisations like Music Venue Trust is pivotal in nurturing the grassroots music scene. The team at Swansea Arena understand that without the grassroots scene, there won’t be any artists to play on the large stages like theirs across the UK. By supporting smaller, independent venues, these collaborations promote a vibrant live music culture IN Swansea. Additionally, partnerships like these contribute to huge efforts, amplifying the voices of smaller venues and working towards a more supportive ecosystem for live music overall.”
How has the arrival of Swansea Arena benefitted the overall live music and entertainment scene in the region two years on from the ‘House Warming’?
LM: “We have filled a gap in the market as previously there were the local music venues, and then Singleton Park and the stadium. There wasn’t anything of our size to really welcome artists to the city once they had started to make a name for themselves. It has been great to see artists such as Those Damn Crows, who have only recently played the Patti and Hangar 18, play a show here as part of their first Arena tour!”
JM: “I don’t know any other city or large town with an arena that has an open relationship and connection like the team at Swansea Arena has with their local GMVs (grassroots music venues). From both the arena and small venues offering advice to each other, but also helping with things needed for shows, from staff to even equipment. But it’s not just the GMVs, but the whole city and further the Swansea Bay Region has needed a large venue like Swansea Arena to make people aware that things do happen in Southwest Wales and you don’t need to travel East to see big shows!”
What are your goals for this annual all-day event?
LM: “Our goal is to make up to £20,000 but for this to happen we would need to sell out – so we are realistic that it might take a few years of this event taking place for us to hit this target with one event. The money will go to MVT who will ensure it is allocated to GMVs in the SA postcode area through their pipeline fund. We also want the bands to have a great first experience playing in an arena setting, in front of a large audience – an experience which will hopefully help them in their performing careers.”
What was the driving force behind the Swansea Music Venues Working Group, and how will the formation of the collective enable and benefit the city’s music scene?
LM: “It came from the Arena team – Keith Powles, Joe Bayliss, and James Morgan to name a few. All people who are still active in the music scene in Swansea outside of the Arena. They were able to introduce me to the venues (Bunkhouse, Sin City, Hangar 18, and Elysium initially) so we could come together and decide how we could collaborate. The key is that we all have the same challenges, just on different scales – and obviously as part of a large international operator, at the arena we have a bigger support system and so feel less pressure from landlords and rate bills. So, we can problem solve together, share experience, and create actions. Some recent ones are the petition to improve late night transport in the area that we are all supporting, and lobbying the local authority for more affordable outside advertising in key areas. Creating marketing campaigns together will also ensure greater reach and more awareness of the scene, and hopefully promoters and artists will be inspired by our plans and come and support us in Swansea at any venue.”
JM: “We are all in the same boat with the same vision. People seem to think that because the arena is big and shiny, they don’t suffer the same issues as us, the little guys, but after speaking to Lisa and the team, and working alongside them, they really do. And we all have the same vision, to create a better Swansea and a destination for all!”
£10 tickets for the event can be found here with all proceeds donated to the Music Venue Trust.
www.swansea-arena.co.uk/shows/the-swansea-arena-house-party
