Rock music is – and always has been – about so much more than turning it up to 11. It’s about community, it’s about inclusivity, it’s about being and feeling a part of something much larger than you can comprehend, yet also having it distilled into one perfect moment in time. And try as you might try to rekindle that surge of adrenaline through carefully constructed Spotify playlists, nothing comes close to the live experience, arm in arm with your mates, watching your favourite artist or discovering a new band together. These moments don’t happen everyday, they don’t happen everywhere, but they only happen thanks to our grassroots venues.
Growing up in Lincoln in the mid-’00s, there was only one place for young rock fans like myself to go: The Bivouac. A weekly gig night, every Friday, in the 120-capacity upstairs room of a pub. Four bands for £5, local support and one touring band, and that’s what we’d do every single week. It didn’t even matter who was on, it was about supporting your local scene and hanging out with like-minded individuals who loved rock, metal and punk as much as you. It was booked and promoted by just one guy – Steve Hawkins, a softly-spoken man who adored rock music – who also did the sound and set up/broke down the stage single-handedly every week. This was as DIY and grassroots as it gets, and it was The Best.