Gem O’Reilly & Olivia Demetriades
BBC News, London
BBC
Sam Ryder launched his early career performing in pubs
“I’m going back to my roots and where I started out, playing pubs and small venues – hoping that people turn up.”
Sam Ryder has been speaking to BBC Radio London ahead of championing a pop-up gig in the capital tonight.
The singer, songwriter and producer has been appointed as head of gigs by Greene King Pubs in a bid to increase access to live music and finding the country’s best grassroots talent this summer.
“We know how powerful this country is when it comes to creating scenes with different genres of music,” said Sam.
“The story doesn’t begin in arenas, it starts in smaller venues so it’s very important we foster this culture.”
‘Keep the culture alive’
Average ticket prices for a big-name UK artist is about £100, according to research by Greene King Pubs.
Sam acknowledges that it costs a lot for artists to put on shows but he told us, on top of that cost for fans, “there’s travel, hotels, drinks at the bar, food, childcare, or something like that, that’s getting to the point where it’s a festival ticket, just to go and see one artist”.
“This is not about chastising any artist at a different point in their career on how much they’re charging for their tickets,” he said.
“My biggest concern is that we’re losing sight of keeping the culture alive because without those small venues, you don’t get seen.”
Sam will surprise customers at a pub, which will be revealed later today, for a one-off headline performance
As part of his role, Sam will surprise customers at one London Greene King pub, which will be revealed later today, for a one-off headline performance.
It is part of a wider event organised by the pub chain where nearly 800 acts will perform in pubs across the UK on Friday.
Greene King Pubs said the partnership with Sam comes as their research found 47% of people from London surveyed missed out on live music last year due to high ticket prices.
That figure jumped to 64% among 21 to 24-year-olds across the UK, it added.
The research also found among those who did attend, 23% of people from London had to cut back on essentials to afford a ticket, while 20% spent more on live music than on a monthly household bill.
Greene King Pubs said live music remained a “much-loved part of British life”.
The majority of people surveyed said free or local gigs were essential to keeping culture alive. A further 63% said the energy of live performance was “irreplaceable”.
Having launched his early career performing in pubs and as an advocate for grassroots music, Sam said: ”Grassroots music is at the heartbeat of the scene and those early gigs shaped who I am as an artist.
“These spaces allow live music to be an experience available to everyone, that’s why they’re so important, and I’m stoked to be a part of the team helping to keep that alive!”