Here’s something cool… big artists are planning to go back to their favourite venues to give them a boost.

It’s basically like a lottery, where you donate £5 for the chance of seeing one of your fave artists in an intimate venue.

All of the artists involved had to ‘start somewhere’, and that usually means gigging in your charming local open mic circuit, grabbing yourself as many local gigs as you can and growing a following. I know this is true, because I once supported Bastille for a group of no more than 30 people in a tiny venue in Wrexham, North Wales. I remember thinking at the time, ‘they could easily be famous’. I was pretty blown away by them.

The best thing about this gig is it is not socially distanced. So the date is yet to be announced, but the hope for a day where you go to a ‘normal’ gig and listen to the music without worrying about how many metres apart you are from the crowd, is very much alive.

KT Tunstall, Passenger, Metronomy, Russell Watson and Jamie XX make the line-up. With the Pet Shop Boys rocking The Electric Ballroom. (I’m mad for their lockdown version of West End Girls btw). It’s pretty cool that they’re helping out the venues they care about the most. Lord knows our venues need it, these days!

It’s a long way away – sometime between March and September next year. But still, good to have something to look forward to. Real live music.

Buy your lottery ticket here. If you like.