New Grassroots Venue Opens Doors for Emerging Bands
A vibrant new initiative is set to inject life back into the live music scene, offering a much-needed platform for up-and-coming bands. Room 2, a new 100-capacity grassroots music venue, has officially launched in Leeds, aiming to provide a dedicated space for new artists to showcase their talent.
The new venue is nestled within The Key Club, an established 300-capacity venue in Leeds that is already run by the brilliant minds behind the popular pop-punk festival, Slam Dunk. Initially, the space at The Key Club was primarily utilised for alternative club nights. However, Mia Jackson and Sav Bowskill, both integral members of the Slam Dunk Ltd team, identified a significant void in Leeds’s music landscape for smaller, more intimate alternative venues. This observation sparked the idea to transform the existing room into a dedicated gig space.
The launch party, held on April 3rd, featured electrifying performances from local acts Different State, Lomens, and Until Joy, with tickets priced at an accessible £5.50. The momentum is set to continue, with two further gigs already scheduled for April 10th and April 24th.
A key feature of Room 2 is its commitment to easing the financial burden for emerging artists. The venue provides essential sound equipment, known as ‘backline’. This means that younger bands can simply arrive with their instruments and perform, bypassing the considerable expense of purchasing thousands of pounds worth of additional gear.
Sav Bowskill elaborated on the motivation behind the venture: “We decided to launch it because we want to support local artists who want to get into the alternative scene where opportunities are dying out, with venues closing and rising costs.”
He further emphasised the venue’s inclusive vision: “We also want to showcase marginalised genders and queer artists, giving those people a lift up and head start as well, because they’re important to the scene.”
Mia Jackson echoed these sentiments, highlighting the current challenges faced by musicians: “It’s a really difficult time to be in bands at the moment and we just wanted to make an active change in this. An 100-capacity venue is perfective because it’s still intimate, but for a smaller band, 100 people is a lot of people.”
The focus on affordability is paramount, with Mia adding, “We’re trying to make the gigs as cheap as possible. The highest price at the moment we have is £7 for a four-band bill.”
The Wider Context: Challenges Facing Grassroots Music Venues
Room 2’s launch arrives at a critical juncture for the UK’s grassroots music scene. Earlier this year, the Music Venue Trust (MVT) released its annual report for 2025, revealing a stark reality. Despite contributing over half a billion pounds to the UK economy, a staggering 30 grassroots music venues permanently closed their doors over the past year. This period also saw a significant cut of 6,000 roles (19.8%), marking the sharpest decline in employment since the MVT began collecting data.
While the government published its Creative Industries Sector Plan earlier this year, outlining a £30 million investment aimed at supporting grassroots music venues and providing mentoring for emerging talent, the MVT has pointed to the UK Government’s changes to national insurance and business rates as significant contributing factors to the struggles faced by many venues. The MVT has put forward proposals to inject further financial support and assistance into the sector.
The difficulties in securing suitable performance spaces are not lost on established artists. Greg Counsell, lead singer of the band The Maple State, described his experience last year when trying to find a venue for his band’s 20th anniversary. He told us it was “impossible,” adding: “It was such hard work trying to find a venue available on the dates we were intending to play. The number of people I called and they’d just say ‘This place has gone, that place has gone.’ It was devastating. I feel like we’re fishing in an ever-decreasing pond.”
Greg expressed his enthusiasm for the Room 2 initiative: “I thought the Room 2 venture was ‘fantastic.’ 100 capacity is exactly what I wanted last year. I wanted to get 100 people in a room and just play to them. That’s the most punk rock size for a room.”
Ben Ray, Director of Slam Dunk Ltd, commented on the strategic creation of Room 2: “We have created a space within our existing venue to make a smaller performance space to give local bands more opportunities for their first gigs and help them build their fan base. Hopefully, they’ll then go onto much bigger things, and could one day play at Slam Dunk.”
The establishment of Room 2 represents a beacon of hope, demonstrating a proactive approach to nurturing the next generation of musicians and ensuring the continued vitality of the live music scene.
