Bush Hall might not be a regular haunt - I've only been once, for the Baba Yaga's Hut bill headed by Big Brave in September. But what a venue it is, as impressive in its own way as the Forum in Bath (where I saw Angel Olsen in October 2022) and a very different kind of space to the Moon, where I'd seen Big Brave only a few days earlier (much as I love the Cardiff venue's impeccably dank vibes).
And now it's the latest venue forced to beg for urgent financial help in the form of a crowdfunder. The objective is to raise £42,000, without which it would struggle to survive. I recently noted that cash injections aren't the long-term solution to the myriad challenges facing grassroots music venues - but of course in the short term they can at least keep the wolf from the door of spaces that find themselves in dire straits.
I'll admit to being slightly uneasy about businesses identifying the forthcoming increase in the minimum wage as part of the problem. After all, everyone's feeling the squeeze and wages really do need to rise in the face of significant inflation - plus it will leave people with marginally more money in their pockets each month, which may help ticket sales. But it's nevertheless true that the increase will also push up costs, both directly at venues themselves and indirectly at their suppliers, and thereby ramp up the pressure on already beleaguered institutions.
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