Freya Townley

Over the past decade, Grassroots Music Venues (GMV’s) have been struggling amid increasing financial pressures with many having to close down. This is despite them being a crucial part of the wider live music ecosystem and making significant contributions to society both culturally and economically.

The design solution is a day event called ‘Beat 2 Beat’ taking place during the freshers period with the aim of helping these struggling venues. This would give students the opportunity to discover new local venues, experience local live music talent and encourage them to return to these venues over the next academic year. This would help create repeat customers and increase footfall for GMV’s, thus tackling the problem by easing financial strain.

Groups of friends would sign up online and fill out a short questionnaire prior to the day, later receiving a surprise personalised itinerary along with their event ticket in the post. From this, they would follow their itinerary taking them around different GMV’s across Cardiff, with the itinerary being curated to their music taste specifically (with some wild cards too).

This bold illustrative approach immediately captures attention and encapsulates good vibes, making evident the grassroots nature of the event. This gives a ‘made for the people, by the people’ feel.