The UK's Biggest Free Festival Just Got Started.

“Local venues aren’t just where bands cut their teeth, they’re the foundation of any real culture. Without them, you don’t get The Smiths, Amy Winehouse, or The 1975. You get silence. The erosion of funding for seed and grassroots spaces is part of a wider liberal tendency to strip away the socially democratic infrastructure that actually makes art possible. What’s left is a cultural economy where only the privileged can afford to create, and where only immediately profitable art survives. Ironically, these same seed and grassroots venues are also what feed Britain’s soft power, the stuff we export, the identity we sell abroad. Lose them, and we lose not only future artists, but part of who we are.”

“Seed music venues are the incubators for the next generation of artists. They’re more than venues , they’re workshops, gathering spots, testing grounds. They’re where rough ideas get sharpened, where voices find confidence, where communities come together around sound and story. Events like the Seed Sounds Weekender don’t just celebrate that energy, they help sustain it. They remind us that music doesn’t start in boardrooms or big arenas. It starts in back rooms, pubs, basements, and independent spaces run on love, grit, and belief in something bigger. If we want to keep that creative fire burning, if we want new sounds, new voices, and scenes that speak to who we really are — then we’ve got to look after the seed spaces. That’s the foundation everything else stands on.”

“Stonegate is proud to be part of The Seed Sounds Weekender and to stand alongside so many brilliant venues championing live music. These seed music spaces play a vital role – not just in supporting emerging artists, but in keeping UK culture vibrant and creating inclusive spaces where people can express themselves. At Stonegate, our mission is all about bringing people together through our passion for great pubs, bars and venues – and this festival couldn’t align more closely with that, as it celebrates the social power of live music and the venues at the heart of their communities. Seed music is the gateway into the industry for many artists, and without these venues, we wouldn’t have the live music scene we all love today."