Tickets go live for Grass Roots Music Venue Innovation gigs
Pilot gigs in London, Bristol and Liverpool showcase new opportunities for live music
Last year we chose four pioneering R&D projects to take part in our Grass Roots Music Venue Innovation challenge launched in partnership with MusicFutures and supported by the Music Venue Trust .
The R&D call invited UK companies to develop exciting new ideas that would connect artists, grass roots music venues and audiences in new ways and in pursuit of a more equitable future for the UK’s live music sector.
We are now inviting audiences to join us at a series of gigs in grass roots venues in London, Bristol and Liverpool to showcase these pilots and the fantastic musicians that will make these experiences come to life.
Tickets are now live for all events – we hope to see you there!
Is this the future of live music?
7pm Saturday 28 February 2026, Strange Brew, Bristol
Step inside a new era of live music with this high-octane fusion between the band, the audience in venue and the audience online brought to you by award-winning immersive studio Megaverse.
Built around a set from indie-rock band Townhouses, this gig will take place at Strange Brew, Bristol at 7pm on Saturday 28 February and promises to be a visceral spectacle. Large-scale interactive visuals will be generated during the performance in response to music from the band, depth camera movement in the venue, and engagement from the audience online.
If you can’t make it to Strange Brew you can join the gig live online using Megaverse’s “MegaStage” platform designed to integrate real time participation directly into the gig experience. Find Out More.
Performers and audience unite on the dance floor
2pm and 7pm Saturday 7 March 2026 at Hackney Bath House, London
MASS Live’s experience at The Bath House on Saturday 7 March (2pm & 7pm) in Hackney, London will use music, interactivity and stunning visuals to blur the lines between audience and performers as part of a collaborative show with a sense of tribal creative connection at its heart.
On arrival the audience will find themselves in a room with no stage, surrounded by immersive spatial audio and real-time generated visuals on a large screen and a set of interactive tiles distributed across the dance floor.
Audiences will become part of the show as producer/performer and MASS co-founder Barney Kass, vocalist Julita Mahrer Vinas and special guests take to the floor. There will be two performances, one at 2pm and one at 7pm. Find out more.
Music for 8 colours
7pm Thursday 12 March, District, Liverpool
In collaboration with pianist & singer songwriter Jack Joy, Sonalux will present a one-off spatial immersive live performance at District, an independent grass roots venue in Liverpool.
With Jack Joy positioned at the centre of the venue, the work will unfold through eight spatialised speakers and a synchronised lighting environment, forming a living field of sound and colour.
Drawing inspiration from the original eight-colour Pride flag (now widely recognised in six colours) - the event reclaims the full spectrum, with each colour represented as a distinct musical and emotional theme.
As sound travels fluidly around the room and light responds in dialogue, the experience will build towards a crescendo of chromatic fireworks where all eight colours converge. Find out more.
Somewhere Else is Here - city-wide connectivity
7pm Thursday 26 March 2026 at Invisible Wind Factory, Liverpool
In collaboration with electronic duo Those Holy and grassroots music venue, Kapsule, Studio Tonto presents Tele Sync - an innovative piece of technology aiming to help grassroots venues attract new audiences, by placing interactive portals in high-footfall areas.
These portals will act as a digital bridge to the venue experience, offering four modes:
Promotional – Displays upcoming events.
Interactive – Single-user experiences.
Telepresence – Connects distant locations through games.
Broadcast – Streams live performances to expand reach.
The purpose of Tele Sync is to create a city-wide, interconnected network of portals, fostering collaboration between venues, universities, and public institutions for shared programming and audience development.
Playing in a highly immersive audio visual installation in the round, the show will be broadcast live to all the portals. In collaboration with Sonalux, Those Holy will play an adapted set to take advantage of their innovative specialised hardware using Kapsule’s hand build PA from Sun Palace Soundsystems. Find out more.
