‘Well overdue’: Much-loved Hackney Wick venue brings its sound system into 21st century – thanks to £5k charity grant

Grow Hackney. Photograph: Facebook

The team at a popular canalside venue in Hackney Wick is amped up after winning a grant to replace its failing ’90s-era audio equipment.

Grow Hackney is just one beneficiary of the Music Venue Trust’s (MVT) new Pipeline Investment Fund, which is giving out £5,000 grants to grassroots sites across the UK.

A spokesperson for the hangout on the bank of the Lee Navigation said the ageing PA system was beginning to splutter and there was a risk of show cancellations.

They added: “We had been hoping to replace our amps and audio processors for some time as they are from the 1990s and all that we could afford when we started Grow in 2014.

“Recently they were starting to fail and needed replacing as soon as possible – just at the time when the cost-of-living crisis and rail strikes were hitting us hard.

“The upgrade was well overdue but we couldn’t afford it even when the equipment finally gave up on us.

“This funding enabled us to replace equipment and keep our events programme rolling and the sound experience is now fantastic!

“We’ve always wanted our tech to match the quality and passion of our creative partners, team and audiences and now it does.”

MVT’s Pipeline Fund was established last year and is largely built on donations from ticket sales from the charity’s ‘Revive Live’ programme.

The small-scale grants are designed to help venues with minor projects, such as lighting, sound and ventilation work. Priority for the grants is given to organisations who may have been excluded from other available funding.

MVT is still looking for donations, particularly from the wider music industry, to maintain and expand the Pipeline Fund and make it a permanent resource for grassroots venues.

The charity’s CEO Mark Davyd said: “Distributing almost £70,000 to 14 grassroots music venues is a really positive way to start 2023 and is further proof that our Pipeline Investment Fund can make a real difference to individual venues.

“It is really important, however, that we don’t get complacent; this initiative has had a real impact but it is only the start of what we need long-term.

“We still need the wider industry to back us with real financial commitments so that we protect the fabric and integrity of the grassroots venue sector, which continues to face serious challenges on an ever increasing number of fronts.

“We are also pleased to announce that our 2022 Annual Report will be presented to MPs at the House of Commons later this month. Although it makes for sobering reading, it clearly sets out what we need from government to help our sector survive and thrive.“

To find out how you can support MVT’s Pipeline Fund, contact ozlem@musicvenuetrust.com.