YolanDa Brown unveiled as Artist Ambassador for Independent Venue Week 2025

Independent Venue Week (IVW), the UK’s annual 7-day celebration of independent music and arts venues and the people that own, run and work in them, will return next year from January 27th to February 2nd 2025.

Our Artist Ambassador for IVW2025 is the acclaimed jazz musician, broadcaster, philanthropist and author YolanDa Brown OBE DL, who this year opened a new independent music venue and restaurant, Soul Mama, based in Stratford, London.

IVW encourages music fans to get on the good foot, and start the new year by buying a ticket and attending a live show. Over the course of the week, independent venues come together with artists, promoters, agents, record labels and media to create a unique series of special live events across the UK to highlight and celebrate the work these venues do year-round.

By doing so, local communities can celebrate these special places with thousands of artists playing hundreds of shows in villages, towns and cities all around the UK.

In 2024, more than 200 venues took part, hosting over 800 events.

We are beyond excited to welcome YolanDa Brown as IVW’s Artist Ambassador for 2025.

A musician, first and foremost, YolanDa is widely acknowledged as the UK’s premier female saxophonist. Her albums April Showers, May Flowers (2013) and Love Politics War (2017) have topped the UK Jazz Charts, while she was also the first artist to win a “Best Jazz” MOBO award over two consecutive years. An acclaimed live performer, YolanDa has toured with legends including The Temptations, Billy Ocean and Jools Holland, and collaborated extensively with the likes of Dave Stewart, Kelly Jones and Rick Astley.

As a broadcaster and educator, YolanDa has made great strides to bring music to new audiences, notably with her BAFTA-nominated CBeebies series YolanDa’s Band Jam, a weekly Saturday show on Jazz FM, and a weekly classical music show on Magic Classical, alongside numerous other radio and TV projects, including regular appearances as co-presenter on BBC Radio 4’s Loose Ends.

She is currently composing music for the iconic Sesame Street, animated series called Bea’s Block on Sky Kids, as well as the Netflix Series CocoMelon Lane.

YolanDa is also a respected spokeswoman and industry voice, currently serving as Chair of the BPI (Brit Awards, Mercury Prize), as an ambassador for the King’s Trust and the London Music Fund, as a trustee of the PRS Foundation, on the National Council at Arts Council England and a board member London Philharmonic Orchestra. She is also a trustee of Independent Venue Community, the new charity established by Independent Venue Week in 2024.

A former Chair of leading music charity Youth Music, YolanDa was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of East London and became an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Northern College of Music.

In 2023, she received an OBE for services to music, music education and broadcasting.

And to this long, long list of achievements, another hat can now be added:

independent venue owner.

Following a record-breaking crowdfunding campaign, YolanDa opened Soul Mama earlier this year – a brand new live music venue and restaurant in Stratford, London.

The line up so far has been eclectic from the likes of Mica Paris, Omar, Bill Laurance from Snarky Puppy and Yellowjackets. Upcoming shows at Soul Mama include emerging artists such as All Day Breakfast Cafe, Jon Onabowu and special exclusive intimate performances from artists you wouldn’t usually see, so

up close and personal – including Katherine Jenkins, Raul Midón and many more to be announced.

YolanDa will play a special IVW show at the venue on Saturday 1st February, when she will perform her new show “Bob Marley Songbook”, in celebration of what would have been Bob Marley’s 80th birthday year. Other IVW shows at Soul Mama include Omar Puente Charanga Sextet (January 31st) with more to be announced.

Previous IVW Artist Ambassadors have included 2024 Mercury Prize winners English Teacher, as well as Wet Leg, beabadoobee, Philip Selway, Arlo Parks, Anna Calvi, Wolf Alice, Nadine Shah, Colin Greenwood, Adrian Utley and Novelist.

Sybil Bell, IVW Founder and CEO:

“We’ve been incredibly fortunate to have a really broad range of IVW Ambassadors over the years including those at the start of their careers to household names, as well as a wide range of genres. This year, with YolanDa, we’re honoured to not only have such an accomplished musician but also an esteemed industry figure and new venue owner.”

“Many of YolanDa’s fans and followers will be new to Independent Venue Week and it’s incredibly exciting for us to bring a new audience to our celebration and share some wonderful stories of our amazing community.”

YolanDa Brown OBE DL:

“Independent venues are, and will always remain important to the music ecosystem. They are the heartbeat of the live experience, not just for artists but for audiences as well. Within these intimate spaces, countless stories are told – some songs and performances may never transcend the walls, yet they leave a lasting mark, offering hope, joy, inspiration, and sometimes even tears. These venues are the breeding grounds and an important outlet for creativity and expression. As a new venue owner, it is important to have more diversity in music venue ownership in order to create a platform for new stories to be told.”

To date, 149 venues have already confirmed to participate in #IVW25 – with over 200 expected to sign up by the deadline of December 6th 2024. Of those, six are located in villages, 38 in towns and 70 in cities, all supported by a network of IVW reps in every region and nation across the UK.

In addition to Soul Mama, there are also 23 other venues who will take part in IVW for first time, including:

Artisan Tap, Stoke-on-Trent Billy Bootleggers, Nottingham Dingwalls, London

DIVE, Wolverhampton

Full Of Noises, Barrow-in-Furness Granary Arts Cafe, Nantwich Hangover Hill, Poole Hootananny Brixton, London Jacaranda Baltic, Liverpool Paradise Palms, Edinburgh Pocklington Arts Centre, York Saltbox, Nottingham

The Boat Shack Cafe, Bromsgrove The Drill, Lincoln

The Garibaldi Hotel, Northampton The Hallamshire Hotel, Sheffield The Hive, Edinburgh

The Love Inn, Bristol

The Old Cold Store, Nottingham The Studio, Nantwich

The Vinyl Whistle, Leeds

The White Room Music Café, Co Durham Walthamstow Trades Hall, East London

New shows will also be added regularly and presented on the IVW website.

Artists already confirmed to appear during the week include Ibibio Sound Machine, The Lounge Society, Gilles Peterson, The Bug Club, Dodgy, Heavy Lungs, The Blockheads, C Duncan, Lizzie Esau + Dirty Blonde, E L U C I D, Avalanche Party, Do Nothing and Utah Saints, demonstrating the rich diversity of programming IVW venues offer. There are also comedy nights and documentaries and there will be many more shows announced in the weeks leading up to January 27th, including some truly special headline events.

Since 2014, more than 1m tickets have been sold for IVW events.

To help make 2025 our most successful event yet, IVW are also delighted to welcome Gabby Chelmicka to the team as Head of Operations and Partnerships.

With over 25 years’ experience of working in the creative industries, Gabby played a key role in Robbie Williams’ management for over 10 years and was integral in the organisation of his early tours, including his seminal gigs at Slane Castle in 1999 and his Knebworth gigs in 2003. She was co-Executive Producer on the 2023 Netflix series, Robbie Williams.

Since moving back to her hometown of Bristol in 2009, Gabby has worked on a wide range of projects and events. She has been Music Business lecturer at BIMM, spent 3 years working for Arts Council England, played a key role in events including Glastonbury and Banksy’s Dismaland as well as mentoring young people on various talent development programmes across the South West.

IVW would be impossible without outside support, and we can also confirm today that Arts Council England, Beavertown, TuneCore, PPL,  Rockbox and the Welsh Government via Creative Wales will all be official partners in 2025, helping us to deliver a truly nationwide event.

Claire Mera-Nelson, Director, Music, Arts Council England said:

“Independent venues – and the people that run them – are vital to the UK’s music scene. It’s in these dynamic spaces that many artists find their first audiences, share their passion with fans and develop their creative skill. Arts Council England is proud to be a lead funding partner of Independent Venue Week and I look forward to an exciting event in 2025!”

With venues already registered from Aberystwyth (Bank Vault), Cardiff (Tramshed & The Globe), Port Talbot (Afan Ales), St Davids (Grain) and Swansea (Tŷ Tawe) Minister for Creative, Jack Sargeant, said:

“Creative Wales is excited to be a prominent supporter of this year’s Independent Venue Week and to see Welsh venues taking part in an event that shines a light on the vital role independent venues play in shaping our music landscape.

“These venues are where communities can come together through a shared love of live music and discover new talent – what an opportunity we will all have to support and celebrate their importance during IVW.”

The full list of venues signed up is as follows:

ENDS

About Independent Venue Week

Independent Venue Week (IVW) is the UK’s annual 7-day celebration of independent music & arts venues and the people that own, run and work in them.

During the week, independent venues come together with artists, promoters, agents, record labels and media to create a unique series of special live events across the U.K. to highlight the work these venues do year-round. By doing so, local communities come together and celebrate these special places with thousands of artists playing hundreds of shows in villages, towns and cities all around the UK.

Working with valued long term partners including Arts Council England and Creative Wales as well as BBC Radio 6 Music as official broadcast partner, IVW is also championed by a different Ambassador every year, which have included English Teacher, Philip Selway, Colin Greenwood (Radiohead), Arlo Parks, Anna Calvi, Adrian Utley (Portishead), Nadine Shah, Wolf Alice, Wet Leg and many more.

IVW offers artists, audiences and the wider music business the opportunity to recognise the vital role these hundreds of independent-owned venues play in the industry and local community across England, Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland. From giving artists their first experience of performing live, fans somewhere to discover and watch their favourite artists locally, they also provide those wanting a career off-stage the chance to learn their craft in a safe and secure environment.

Independent Venue Week is a nationwide initiative with a local feel, highlighting why venues are so much more than just places for live music – they are cultural hubs for learning, creativity, arts and culture more widely connecting people in their local community of all ages, backgrounds, abilities, genders, ethnicities, skills, experiences and walks of life. These venues, all local businesses, are the backbone of the live music scene and Independent Venue Week recognises all that they have done to create some of the most memorable nights of the past so they can continue to do the same in the future.

www.independentvenueweek.com

@IVW_UK (Twitter and Instagram) @independentvenueweek (Facebook) #IVW25