The search will be in association with J.D. Roots – Jack Daniel’s music campaign that celebrates the importance of where you’re from and the role home plays in the creative process – and will involve a series of three shows across the UK that takes alternative music acts back to their hometowns for one-off intimate gigs during May.
This is the second year that NME will be rewarding Britain’s Best Small Venue but the first time the search has been carried out in partnership with Jack Daniel’s.
Michael Boaler, Jack Daniel’s brand manager, says: “Jack Daniel’s may now be a world famous name but it remains rooted in its hometown beginnings and in the people of Lynchburg, Tennessee. Home is incredibly important to Jack Daniel’s; the people, the ingredients and the care that goes into production are at the root of our Tennessee Whiskey. JD Roots honours the importance of where you’re from by showing the value of home in the creative process and recognising the immense contribution of people across the UK without whom there would be no music scene. It’s where you come from that makes you who you are”.
NME publishing director Emily Hutchings adds: “This nationwide search aims to highlight the hugely important role played by small venues in encouraging and nurturing new music talent – a matter very close to NME’s heart. J.D. Roots shares those values and recognises all that small venues do for grassroots music by providing hubs for local music scenes so this partnership makes perfect sense.”
Music fans will be invited to nominate their favourite small venue. The entries will be judged not just on the building itself, but also on the music scenes they encourage, in the search for the venue that goes that extra mile for fans and bands alike.
Regional winning venues will form a list from which Britain’s Best Venue will be chosen by an NME assembled panel of experts, including artists, promoters and agents.
NME editor Krissi Murison (pictured) says: “Obviously selling out huge venues is a sign of a massively successful band – and rightly so! But most successful artists wouldn’t have got where they are today without playing smaller venues at the start of their careers. They play an extremely important role in nurturing talent, which NME is very proud to support. It’s in all of the UK music industry’s interest for small venues to prosper.”
As well as being named Britain’s Best Small Venue, the winning venue will also play host to a popular band who will perform as part of a special celebration later in the year.
The partnership was orchestrated by media agency UM London and Adam Bulleid from IPC Men & Music’s Creative Media team.
Daniel Putland, planning manager, UM London, says: “The partnership we established between NME and Jack Daniel’s is a fantastic way to celebrate J.D. Roots and to tap into NME’s brilliant reputation and expertise in the music industry. It’s central to a wider multi-media campaign we’ve developed to support the J.D. Roots platform, spanning digital and press. As an extra touch, we’ll also be stripping media back to its own roots with some fly posting.”
