As a magazine that prides itself on covering grassroots music across the region, it would have been remiss of us to not mention the perilous state of it in Middlesbrough at the moment.
With the closures of Base Camp in November and The Westgarth in February acting as the sourest of doughs, filled with a generous slice of nationwide social discontent and the deaths of legendary figures like Tom Verlaine and David Crosby, music fans in Boro have been served a real shit sandwich this winter.
At a time when millions of us are panicking at the thought of heating ourselves into an unarranged overdraft, it should perhaps come as no surprise that the hospitality industry is struggling, particularly having already faced multiple lockdowns. However, the truth is, when venues like Base Camp and the Westgarth close their doors for the last time, the impact feels that much more profound than losing a chain pub ever does, particularly in a town where creative spaces are already sparse in supply. A glance over the list of events at both venues over recent years shows a truly diverse programme of multi-disciplinary performances, unafraid of genre, lifestyle or mainstream popularity, with artists from both near and far gracing the stages, the sorts of events that are vital to the cultural growth of any town.
Another unfortunate and somewhat controversial truth is that a scene will only survive if people support it. When a venue is unable to successfully turn over a profit due to a lack of footfall, the end result will invariably be the same. It’s a cruel irony that the Westgarth’s final gig took place at the end of Independent Venue Week, with promoters being faced with the unenviable task of trying to find other venues to host future gigs. Unfortunately, thus far, none will be in Middlesbrough.
It has been a fact of life that venues have come and gone in Middlesbrough over the years, and the one bit of hope we can cling to is that other venues will step in within the town as before. However, one certainty is both Base Camp and the Westgarth have left two enormous pairs of boots to fill. The town has a proud history and a lot of potential where grassroots music is concerned, and it’s vital that going forward, we all do our bit to support it.
