Hull venues unite for Hull City of Music initiative
The leading music venues in Hull, in north-east England, have joined forces to promote the area as a ‘city of music’ in the vein of Liverpool or Manchester.
Hull City of Music – comprising venues including Bonus Arena (3,500-cap.), Welly (600-cap.), Adelphi (200-cap.), Asylum (1,100-cap.), the 1,200-seat Hull City Hall and the Humber Street Sesh festival – aims to “encourage the experience of live music within the community through attendance, participation and education” and put “put the city’s live music scene will on the map in the same way as Manchester and Liverpool’s musical heritage”, according to a launch announcement.
Famous musical exports from Hull (in full Kingston upon Hull), a city of some 250,000 people in the East Riding of Yorkshire, include Sade, the Housemartins/Beautiful South, Fatboy Slim, Throbbing Gristle and Bowie collaborator/Spider from Mars Mick Ronson.
The Hull City of Music group will work alongside Hull City Council and Visit Hull to:
- Jointly promote Hull and all of its live music events
- Broaden opportunities for musicians in the city to develop a pathway to perform at both grassroots venues and the largest spaces and stages in Hull
- Develop creative ideas to fundraise activities supporting audience development and the talent pipeline
- Solidify Hull as a “great city to visit for live music”
“Hull City of Music gives all venues, regardless of size, the chance to come together”
As part of its longer-term aims, the group hopes to inspire young people to get involved in the music industry, whether as artists or promoters, technicians or other industry professionals.
It is also hoped that by working together, the city will be able to take a “joined-up approach” to hosting a multi-venue event, similar to Live at Leeds or Tramlines in Sheffield, which attract thousands of visitors from outside of their respective cities.
It is the first time in at least 30 years that all major venues in the city have pledged to work together.
Dan Harris, general manager of ASM Global’s Bonus Arena, explains: “Over the last few years Hull has welcomed some enormous bands and artists to the city, with even more planned in 2020. Hull City of Music gives all venues, regardless of size, the chance to come together and celebrate the rich cultural offering, promote the city’s grassroots acts and clear a pathway to continue to put the city on the musical map.”
“Multiple musical hearts from local government to enterprises and media have joined forces to emphasise the unique and vibrant live music scene in Hull,” adds Bert van Horck of VMS Live, which operates the Welly, Welly 2 and Polar Bear. “Music is a vital anchor in the social fabric of our society, and we will continue to drive this forward to the benefit of the audience and the musicians.”
“Hull City of Music is a really exciting partnership that promises to make this city great again”
Mark Hall, business manager for Hull Box Office, comments: “In nearly 30 years of working in the live music scene in Hull, I have only ever dreamed of a group that brings all of the city’s venues and promoters together to promote the vibrant and diverse music scene that exists in this great city.
“With the full support of Hull City Council and VHEY [Visit Hull and East Yorkshire], Hull City of Music is a really exciting partnership that promises to make this city great again!”
Cllr Dave Craker, portfolio holder for culture, leisure and tourism at Hull City Council, adds: “It is great for the council, through Visit Hull, to be part of a partnership of venues that will help to rightly establish Hull as one of the country’s best destinations for seeing and playing live music.”
A Hull City of Music website, including combined gig listings for all member venues, will launch in the coming weeks.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Hull Venue becomes Bonus Arena in new sponsor deal
Hull Venue has secured a sponsorship deal with local business group Bonus, and will now be known as the Bonus Arena. It is hoped that this new deal will help to secure a lasting legacy for the city, after it was named UK City of Culture in 2017.
With a 3,500 person capacity, the state-of-the-art events complex hopes to attract exhibitions, large-scale conferences as well as concerts, stand-up and sporting events. Already, the venue has announced upcoming gigs from George Ezra, Jack White and Madness as well as events from the Strictly Come Dancing professionals and the Harlem Globe Trotters.
New sponsors Bonus Group are a well-established part of the Hull business community. For almost 60 years, the group has been involved in the local area, with many of those years spent in offices just a stone’s throw away from the new arena. On the new deal, Shaun Boanus, CEO of Bonus Group, says: “Having been involved with so many things ‘Hull’ over the years it seemed an obvious partnership from both sides.
“The arena is a huge legacy for the city and will do fantastic things for tourism”
“To be involved from day one is a great honour. It will undoubtedly be a huge success for the city and the people of Hull.”
Bonus Arena is managed by SMG Europe. John Sharkey, executive vice president of European operations at SMG Europe, echoes the optimism shared by those at Bonus Group. He says: “Following an incredible year with City of Culture, we are delighted to be operating the Bonus Arena in Hull.
“The arena is a huge legacy for the city and will do fantastic things for tourism, catapulting Hull on to the UK map in a big way as a destination experience.”
Open days and test event will take place in the next month, with the venue opening officially for business later in the summer. Tickets for performances at the venue are on sale now.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
SMG appoints GM for new Hull Venue
SMG Europe has appointed Dan Harris, general manager of its Baths Hall (1,800-cap.) and Plowright Theatre (354-cap.) venues in Scunthorpe, as GM of the new Hull Venue, a 3,500-capacity music and events complex set to open in summer 2018.
Hull Venue, in the city of the same name, will bolster SMG’s presence in northern England, offering a mix of live entertainment and corporate conferences, exhibitions, dinners and trade events. The new venue will have the flexibility to reduce to a 2,500 all-seated capacity with 1,400m2 exhibition space, and also includes 800-capacity conference auditorium with additional meeting rooms.
John Sharkey, executive vice-president of SMG Europe, says: “Dan has been instrumental in the success of our two Scunthorpe venues and I’m delighted to announce we’re now expanding his role to cover our new project in Hull. This new organisational structure, led by Dan, allows us to better programme content across all three venues as we continue to synergise our offering in the north.”
“Following this year’s City of Culture 2017 in Hull, entertainment in the region is now firmly on the agenda”
“Following this year’s hugely successful City of Culture 2017 in Hull, entertainment in the region is now firmly on the agenda,” adds Harris, “and I’m looking forward to leading the team across all three venues as we keep the momentum alive.
“In addition to bringing the best in live entertainment and sporting events to all three venues, we’re also working closely with national conference and exhibition organisers to ensure both our new and existing venues offer a wide and varied programme.”
Joining Harris at the £40m Hull Venue will be Paul Savage, recently appointed head of entertainment sales and marketing for all three venues, with more senior management appointments to be made in the coming months.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.