Sheffield promoter Buds & Spawn has announced plans to present a series of live-streamed gigs through the remainder of this year and into 2021.
First launched in 2019 as a home for alternative music in Sheffield, plans were put in place at the start of 2020 for a programme of gigs funded by the Arts Council’s ‘Supporting Grassroots Live Music’ initiative. The COVID-19 lockdown scuppered those plans, however, so instead, Buds & Spawn is focusing its attention in the meantime on online events, which will involve exclusive new music and pre-recorded sessions from each headliner and a local act, as well as with live interviews and interactive Q&A sessions.
The aim is to raise some money for the venues that should have been hosting the original gigs. "They’re going to need all the help they can get to weather this storm," Buds & Spawn founder Laura Holmes says.
In a lengthy statement, Holmes adds: "I was in the midst of planning the launch event for this exciting programme of Arts Council-funded gigs when the pandemic took hold and the UK went into lockdown. Initially, I thought I’d just be able to delay the gigs for a couple of months, but it gradually dawned on me that the reality would be much more complicated.
"I hated the thought of continually delaying the gigs and sitting on this funding for months when the artists, crew and venues needed the income more than ever. But I also hated the thought of trying to promote events and persuade people to come out and spend time in a small room with lots of other people if it wasn’t completely safe. I was really struggling for time with my three kids now at home full time, so I roped in some help (Project Manager, H Nicol) and started talking to everyone involved about reshaping the programme and delivering some of it online.
"There was a great response from the headline acts – most of them were just really keen to continue to get their music out there and excited about the prospect of creating some new and original digital performance for us. We took the decision early on that all the music content should be pre-recorded and high quality, as our experiences with live-streamed music was patchy. For some of the local bands that would have been our support acts, we’ll be hosting a (socially distanced) live session recording day, using the top notch technical team that would have been working on the live gigs and hosted by one of the partner venues, Theatre Deli."
Proceedings get under way on October 22 with a show headlined by Chloë Herington’s VÄLVĒ project. Herington and her band will be supported by Sheffield’s Persona, AKA Raquel Vogl and Claire Williams.
Speaking about her decision to take part, Herington says: "Buds & Spawn aren’t afraid of putting on weird gigs and taking a punt on strange sounds and experimental ideas. They’re brave and open and that’s why I like their action. We were initially booked to play an intimate gig in Sheffield with a local support act and had planned to emit smells and project new video work and we were all excited. And then the plague came and spoiled our fun. But, in fact, the fun was only just beginning because those Buds & Spawn types went full brave and changed the project so that it could still happen but in a very new way!"
Three more Buds & Spawn shows are scheduled for December 10, February 25 and April 10. The line-ups and full details for those shows will be announced in the coming months, and you can support the first show by purchasing a ticket here.
