Music Venue Trust seals Coca-Cola link-up

The Music Venue Trust (MVT) has announced a new partnership with Coca-Cola which will see the drinks brand support the UK grassroots community through a series of activities.

The link-up will commence with a series of gigs organised by the charity, which represents more than 900 UK venues and has secured a 13-show headline run by indie-pop singer-songwriter Casey Lowry.

The tour will kick off at Moles in Bath on 27 September and conclude on 23 October at Camden’s KOKO.

“This is the start of an incredibly important partnership with Coca-Cola which we hope will bring support to grassroots music venues right across the country,” says MVT CEO Mark Davyd. “Every local community deserves access to an excellent live music experience right on their doorstep. This project demonstrates how MVT can work with great partners to make that happen and keep music live right across the UK.”

“We recognise that the festival artists of tomorrow need to play in the grassroot venues of today”

Fans have a chance to win tickets by buying a 500ml Coke Zero or Coke Zero Cherry at any Co-op store and scanning the QR code on the in-store display by 22 August.

“Coca-Cola has a wealth of historical involvement in music and this summer has seen us give music fans a number of epic experiences at festivals across Europe,” says Paul Hiskens, associate director, partnerships & sponsorships at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners GB. “But we recognise that the festival artists of tomorrow need to play in the grassroot venues of today and by partnering with Music Venue Trust we will help support the venues in a number of ways moving forward.

“In our first activity we have funded a series of gigs to allow venues to raise funds, alongside giving fans of Coke Zero an unforgettable night out – and hope that they continue to support these venues ongoing, as we will.”

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UTA partners with Sofar Sounds for London shows

United Talent Agency (UTA) has shared footage from three intimate live performances filmed at its London office earlier this year in partnership with Sofar Sounds.

On 18 January, UTA London hosted a Sofar Sounds show featuring Press to Meco, Casey Lowry and Laura Wright playing short sets to an intimate audience. Sofar Sounds is a ‘secret gig’ promoter which keeps show locations under wraps until the last minute, though the agency has revealed its London office will host another Sofar concert in the coming months.

Press to Meco’s show can be viewed above, while links to the other performances (along with bios for all three UTA-repped acts) are linked below.

Press to Meco
Press to Meco’s unconventional take on riffs, pop hooks and three part vocal harmonies have become their trademark. The debut album, Good Intent, was shortlisted for the 2016 AIM Independent Album of the Year, alongside Radiohead, Frank Carter and Skepta. The band recently finished a sold-out acoustic run of dates in support of their new EP. They are currently working on a new album.

Casey Lowry
At the age of 19, Casey had already been featured as BBC Radio 1’s ‘Artist of the Week’ and sold out some of the UK’s largest and most well-known venues, all before releasing his first single. His Radio 1-playlisted debut single ‘Trampoline’ achieved huge success in its first few weeks of release, charting at #2 on Spotify’s UK Viral 50 charts, hitting #28 in the iTunes singer/songwriter charts and gaining over 500,000 streams since release. Now 22 years old, he has already toured with the likes of Jack & Jack, Lany, the Hunna and Saint Raymond. Lowry has a UK tour coming up this April and will play a number of festivals over the summer.

Laura Wright
Singer, composer and sporting ambassador, Laura is one of the best-selling classical artists of the decade and has released three solo albums with Decca/Universal. Known affectionately as the nation’s favourite sporting soprano, Laura is a familiar face at worldwide sporting events. She has performed with the likes of Alfie Boe, 2Cellos and Andrea Bocelli, and this summer brings her new show, Bach to Bjork, to London.

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