Anticipating the Return of York's Eclectic Live Music Scene
For freshers awaiting an exciting move to York, the Covid-19 pandemic is a very unwelcome disruption. Starting university is a phenomenal change and is daunting enough under normal circumstances.
Luckily, with an ideal balance of culture and nightlife in a welcoming atmosphere, York is a wonderful city to live in, and its eclectic live music scene is indicative of its charm.
Of course, the global pandemic has had an adverse effect on the livelihood of countless grassroots music venues. Unable to pay bills and rent, many smaller venues across the country have been forced to close.
However, not all hope is lost. On 24th August, the government delivered the first of £3.36m worth of grants to tide over struggling venues until October, known as the Emergency Grassroots Music Venue Fund. Fingers crossed; live music can start to flourish again as early as the first term of university.
For hopeful freshers new to York’s buzzing live music scene, here are a few prime venues hoping to bring fantastic music events back to the city soon:
The Crescent Community Venue
A gem on the independent music scene, The Crescent hosts the most exciting upcoming artists that York has to offer, at unbeatable ticket prices. For a mere fiver, I visited The Crescent back in May 2019 to see a whole string of promising artists, headlined by indie band The Plastic Palm Trees. The Crescent is an important stepping stone for musicians seeking to make their mark, and its budget gigs are perfect for the impoverished student looking to experience York’s most current artists. Unfortunately, a mixture of ongoing renovations, financial issues, and safety concerns have meant that The Crescent could not reopen on July 4th alongside the majority of UK pubs. Still, we can remain hopeful that with extra funding The Crescent will return soon to host a plethora of live music as it did before. Students can be rest assured that the venue is highly conscious of audience safety and will offer a low-risk live music experience once they resurface.
The Vanbrugh Arms
Moving closer to home is The Vanbrugh Arms. Commonly known as V-Bar, this homely pub has the most stylish décor of any campus venue. With comfy seating bays, ambient lighting and quaint features like barrel seats and quirky paintings, V-Bar is the perfect backdrop for live gigs. V-Bar’s ideal on-campus location means that students barely have to leave their doorstep for a night out. The pub is celebrated for hosting a weekly live jazz night, plus open-mic nights and plenty of gigs. As with The Crescent, much uncertainty surrounds the reopening plans for V-Bar and other on-campus venues. However, YUSU’s brand new outdoor venue, The Forest, will provide freshers with a safe and spacious bar until YUSU’s diverse range of indoor bars and cafés can reopen.
The National Centre for Early Music
The National Centre for Early Music (NCEM) hosts all-year-round concerts in jazz, world and folk music, ideal for students looking to explore their horizons beyond sweaty clubs and pub gigs. Located in the renovated St. Margaret’s Church in Walmgate, the NCEM is just a twenty-minute walk from West Campus. Most excitingly, for the first fortnight of September, NCEM collaborated with The Crescent, The Fulford Arms and the York Music Venue Network to present a series of outdoor concerts in its gardens, York’s first major live music events since pre-pandemic times. This collaborative effort demonstrates the strength of York’s music community, and is a promising forerunner to the live music events we can anticipate later this year.
Despite the trying times, there’s plenty to look forward to in the world of music in York, with the potential for exciting live music feasibly on the horizon.
