Five gigs lined up at Northampton's The Black Prince to mark Independent Venue Week

The annual Independent Venue Week returns this month, with music venues across the country taking part.
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Over the coming weeks, we’ll be looking at who is playing where in this region and talking to some of the venues which take part.

We begin with The Black Prince in Northampton, which will be hosting five gigs during IVW.

Independent Venue Week runs from January 27 to February 2.

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It was set up to celebrate the work done by independent venues across the UK and the people who own, run and work in them throughout the year.

Booking and promotions manager at The Black Prince in Northampton, Phil Moore, said: “It’s an excellent idea to showcase the important work independent venues do week in, week out, to bring the next generation of musicians through, some of whom, like slowthai, will become international stars 12 months later.

“Having a specific focus on the live music community around the UK is very beneficial.

“I like a lot of the ethics of the team behind the national organisation, for example all gigs must be paid gigs to show live music has an intrinsic monetary value, to accompany the artistic value.

“As the saying goes - use your venues or lose them.”

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The Black Prince beings IVW with Eastbourne pop-punkers ROAM on January 27, followed by headline gigs from Liverpool’s hotly tipped art rockers SPQR, Corby’s King Purple, Kettering’s The Touch and Yorkshire post-punk one’s to watch, Working Men’s Club.

“It’s undoubtedly a challenge to do five shows in one week, but it is a challenge to take on with relish,” said Mr Moore.

“If you can't get excited about going the extra mile to showcase what you can do during IVW then you're in the wrong game.

“I believe aside from the Roadmender, with its significantly bigger capacity, we offer the best musical programme in the town at the moment.”

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The Black Prince is familiar to many Northampton natives under its previous name The Racehorse.

It became The Black Prince in 2016 and over the last 12 months has been on a firm upwards trajectory, cementing its position as one of the town’s best venues.

Mr Moore added: “Bar manager Oliver Hepworth and head sound engineer Ollie Edwin alongside myself have locked into a groove now, so the only way is up.

“Last year saw some Northampton faces on television to audiences of millions, so to say, ‘They played here’ or, ‘They were propping up the bar last night’, is a measure of success and familiarity that all of Northampton and the county can be rightly proud of and share in.

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“The question is, ‘Who's going to be the star of tomorrow’, and you'll more than likely see them on our stage this year, earning their stripes.”

Tickets for all of The Black Prince’s IVW shows are on sale now.

For full details, visit fb.com/blackprincenn

The Black Prince’s Independent Venue Week shows:

Monday, January 27: ROAM, Superlove, Crawlspaces, Slow Burn

Wednesday, January 29: SPQR, No Music, The Comms, Skyflood

Thursday, January 30: King Purple, Naked Next Door, Tragic

Friday, January 31: The Touch, Ramblin’ Preachers, The Bophins, Earbones

Saturday, February 1: Working Men’s Club, Anteloids, Baby Lung