A Void Collective to celebrate first birthday with free gig at The Lab

The group of musicians and creatives will be coming together at The Lab where The Keepers, The Good Fridays, Joe Bombast and Billy Crawford will all perform.

A Void Collective was set up by Alex Botten and friends in 2024 to help give musicians he thought weren’t getting the opportunity to perform the chance to play at some of the county’s venues.

Looking back on the first year, he said: “Year one has flown by. We were making it up as we went along and it went far better than any of us dared even imagine.

“We've gone from nothing to an established part of the local scene in a very short period of time.

“It's been wonderful to give bands shows when they've been perhaps overlooked elsewhere.”

The group, which now features about a dozen members, initially booked a show at Charles Street venue The Lab and after its success, have continued to use the venue as their base.

Last summer Mr Botten – formerly a member of the band ÜLV and now a member of House Of Cats - and members of AVC curated the line-up of the alternative stage at the first Solstice Festival and also decided to launch a fanzine called Notes From The Void which is currently on its seventh issue.

Mr Botten added: “I think the reaction to the zine has taken me the most by surprise and has been immensely rewarding.

“It's hard work, we do it for free, pay for the printing ourselves and then give it away and it's becoming something people are asking for in local record shops.”

A Void Collective was started by Mr Botten and Andrew Slack from Joy Disposal Unit.

The core team now also features Jordan Jones of The Keepers, Mr Botten’s wife Cheryl, Louis Sefton, and Ali from Maevis Darkhorse

A Void Collective also released their first compilation CD which was given away at Abington Groove records and The Lab. Volume two is in the works and the group plans to distribute it at the likes of Spun Out and Spiral Archive as well.

Mr Botten added: “We think it’s important to encourage people to go to local businesses and hope someone picking up a free CD will also buy something there.

“The compilations can be listened to for free on Bandcamp and vinyl can be bought via the ElasticStage website.”

Next month, AVC will host Boilers from Leicester who are part of the Riotous Collective – an initiative that saw an explosion in women led punk bands in Leicester. Joining them Opal, singer songwriter Emmi Fortune and post-punk duo House of Cats.

In May, AVC will host their first festival A Void Fest – a three-night fundraising event at The Lab, which will see almost 30 acts perform across two stages in the venue.

AVC’s 1st Birthday Celebration is on Thursday, February 26. Admission is free for members of The Lab and £1 for non-members. Music is from 6pm. For more information, visit https://linktr.ee/avoidcollective