A £1 night of grassroots music comes to The Castle Hotel this month

WaterBear the College of Music has teamed up with the Music Venue Trust (MVT) to bring a night of grassroots music to Manchester’s beloved Castle Hotel this October.

The Keeping Music Live tour will come to Manchester on Tue 28 Oct, and features a bill topped by Manchester’s own rising synth-pop star Liz Mann with support from Daz Cadwallander, The Tivolis and Life in Neon.

Tickets are just £1, with all proceeds going directly to MVT, the national charity which acts to protect, secure, and improve the UK’s Grassroots Music Venues.

A proportion of tickets will be distributed by Tickets For Good, reaching NHS staff, teachers, charity workers, volunteers, and individuals affected by the cost-of-living crisis. Its platform ensures that access to live music isn’t limited by income or circumstance, supporting WaterBear’s mission to embed music education within the real-life, real-world infrastructure of the UK scene. Additionally, Fightback Lager will be sold on the night, supporting the tour with donations from each pint sold going to MVT.

According to MVT’s 2024 Annual Report, 125 grassroots venues closed in the previous year, making it the worst year on record, with an average of two closures per week. To combat the closures and champion local talent, WaterBear has launched its inaugural Keeping Music Live campaign: a national tour stopping off at some of the UK’s most beloved grassroots venues in Manchester, London, Nottingham and more cities, supported by MVT, Love Music Hate Racism and Save Our Scene.

The Manchester show is being produced in partnership with Scruff of the Neck, the award-winning independent music company known for championing emerging talent in the city through live promotion, artist development and label services.

Greg Archer, Careers and Industry Manager, WaterBear Sheffield, says: “If venues disappear, so do the opportunities for bands, crew, the whole circuit. This is our ecosystem too – we’ve been working with local venues for years—putting on shows, helping them stay open, and giving students a proper understanding of what the industry really looks like. We’re proud to continue that with so many industry partnerships and support for emerging artists on the ‘Keeping Music Live tour.”

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