Live music at Bush Hall — Shepherd's Bush's Edwardian dancehall-turned-music-venue — is under threat.
In a teeth-grinding sign of the times, the beautiful venue in west London — built by a wealthy publisher in 1904 as one of a trio of dancehalls for each of his daughters — has announced it is now four months away from making a "hideous decision" on whether to stop live music, owing to financial strains.
Since being returned to its former glory in 2001, the venue has been run as an entirely independent entity — staging the ilk of Amy Winehouse, Adele and Alicia Keys — but tough times are now starting to bite. Says the venue:
The marketplace and audience perspective has dramatically changed, compounded by the cost of living crisis with declining per head spend, spiralling utility and insurance costs. This leaves us with devastatingly low margins across the sector. We are now sitting in the red month on month.
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Bush Hall needs to raise £42,000, to go towards its music programme, marketing, urgent repairs and rent. If you've got any cash to spare, get over to the Crowdfunding site and make a donation. Otherwise you can help, by simply spreading the word.
In more positive live music news, Brixton Academy is putting on live gigs from April, for the first time since December 2022.
