Sam Fender donates £25,000 Mercury Prize winnings to the Music Venue Trust
"These venues are legendary, but they are struggling," said Fender of the donation
By Nick Reilly
Sam Fender has donated his entire Mercury Prize winnings of £25,000 to the Music Venue Trust.
The singer won the coveted award for his third album People Watching and has hailed the role of independent venues in allowing him to hone the early days of his career.
Fender said: “I wouldn’t be doing what I am doing today if it wasn’t for all the gigs I played around the North East, and beyond, when I was starting out. These venues are legendary, but they are struggling.”
It comes after Fender previously raised £100,000 for the charity when he donated £1 from every ticket sold for his 2024 arena tour, with the funds helping 38 grassroots music venues in the UK and Ireland.
Mark Davyd, chief executive and founder of MVT, said: “This is an incredible gesture by Sam, demonstrating once again that artists absolutely understand how vital grassroots music venues are to their careers and to their communities.
“We are honoured to accept this donation and will ensure every penny of it makes a direct difference to the campaign to keep live music at the heart of our towns and cities.”
Fender won the award last month in front of a huge hometown crowd at Newcastle’s Utilita Arena, after the ceremony left London and headed to the North East for the first time since it began in 1992.
He won the award for his third record. The title track won praise for combining arena-rock sensibilities against a tale inspired by the final days of his late mentor Annie Orwin spent in a crumbling NHS hospital. The prize saw Fender facing competition from FKA twigs, PinkPantheress, Pa Salieu, Jacob Alon, Pulp and more. The list also included 84-year-old Martin Carthy, the oldest ever Mercury nominee.
Last week, it was announced that The Joiners in Southampton and The Croft in Bristol had secured their long-term future as community-owned small venues.
The venues, which have hosted the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Oasis and more, are the latest buildings to be purchased as part of the Own Our Venues initiative from Music Venue Properties.