The Musicians’ Union (MU) is proud to support Independent Venue Week (IVW), a seven-day celebration of small music venues across the UK. To mark IVW’s 5th Birthday, we’re putting the spotlight on independent venues also on our Fair Play Venue list. Next up, we chat to Nick from Sneaky Pete's in Edinburgh…
Tell us a bit about your venue.
Sneaks is a tiny gig and club venue, we fit just 100 in, but we do it often enough that we might just be the busiest square meters in the city, even if there aren't a lot of square meters here! We are known as "the home of new and exciting music in Edinburgh".
What has been your favourite gig of the last year?
We hosted about 250 gigs last year so it's very hard to pick just one, but We Were Promised Jetpacks two super-intimate instant sellouts was pretty special. I did sound for them for a gig they did when they were 16 in the early 2000s, that made this show a long time coming!
What have you got coming up that you’re excited about?
Independent Venue Week is on, with some brilliant breaking talent like The Ninth Wave and Rituals. I love being in to watch that early buzz, and these shows always bring in crowds who are not sure what they are gonna get, but they have faith that if the show is at Sneaky Pete's, it will be good.
What does being a Fair Play Venue mean to you?
It means showing a basic level of respect for musicians for their effort. Pay-to-play shows are completely unacceptable in our book, and yet we still see major promoters getting involved in it. It has to stop.
If you could book ANY artist to play at your venue, who would you choose?
The Sun Ra Arkestra please! Sadly that would only leave space in the venue for myself and maybe five close friends, but surely that would be even more special.
Follow Sneaky Pete’s on Twitter @sneakypetesclub.
Check out the full MU Fair Play Venue list or contact your Regional Office for advice and more on our Fair Play scheme.